WA continues to lead Australia’s economy
Completing the hat-trick, Western Australia holds the top spot as the state with the strongest economy in Australia according to the latest CommSec State of the States report.
While Victoria leapt passed Queensland and South Australia to claim the lead in construction work done and by ranking second on retail growth, Western Australia ranked first across retail spending, relative unemployment, relative population growth, housing finance and dwelling starts. New South Wales leads the pack on real economic growth at 8% above their long-term average of output, while WA lingers seventh with a growth of 3% above the long-term average of output.
Despite high cost-of-living pressures, each of the states and territories are being supported by growing populations, strong job markets, and robust government spending.
View the full State of the States Report.
Cost of living continues to concern Australians
In the lead up to Saturday’s Federal Election, SEC Newgate have released their latest findings from their Mood of the Nation survey. Canvasing Australians across the country, the report provides insights into community attitudes and priorities.
Of the 36 issues polled, cost of living continues to concern Australians with 74% of respondents indicating that a reduction in household bills and other essential expenses is a priority. Investment in affordable health care and reducing crime rates were the other issues to feature in the top three concerns.
The survey saw that 56% of Australians are concerned about access to affordable rental housing. Similarly, 53% of Australian’s believe it is extremely important that more opportunities for people to own their own home are provided, while only 44% think low interest rates are extremely important. Behind the cost of groceries, and a continued concern around electricity bills, 78% of Australian’s are concerned with the cost of rent. Overall, 4 in 10 Australians are experiencing financial difficulty while over half of renters are experiencing financial difficulty.
With the federal election this week, perceived government performance climbed, with 38% of Australians believing the government is performing ‘good’, ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ – up from February’s 32%. Since polling in February, 42% of respondents believe that the Labor party is best positioned to further manage cost of living concerns, and 24% responded in favour of the Coalition. 48% of Australians believe Anthony Albanese would be best placed to manage housing affordability ahead of the 23% in favour of Peter Dutton.
Nearly half of those polled feel that Australia’s transition to renewables is moving too slowly, while one in five feel that it’s moving too quickly. Support for solar generated electricity continues to be high, while long term support for nuclear power has slipped slightly from 32% to 31%.
Read the SEC Newgate Mood of the Nation Report.
30 Years of Celebrating Excellence
Nominations for the 2025 Awards for Excellence are now open!
For 30 years, the UDIA WA Awards for Excellence have been highlighting the very best projects in the urban development industry from across Western Australia. Growing from eight entries across three categories in the first year, the Awards now represent excellence across 18 categories reflecting not just excellence in housing but also recognise individual and team efforts in shaping communities across WA.
Enter the Awards and have your project, team or individual celebrated at the 30th anniversary Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner with over 500 influential development industry professionals and dignitaries.
Start your entry in our online portal.
Committees in Action
This week, the Land Lease Communities (LLC) Working Group met to progress key objectives for the sector.
The group focused on the draft UDIA WA Position Paper on LLCs and communicating benefits for the State Government, i.e. Ageing in Place. Discussion also focused on engagement opportunities with the State Government and fostering a shared vision between portfolios to support housing supply, as well as engagement with DEMIRS on the Retirement Villages Act & Regulations.
The group also spoke about best practice legislation models in other states in Australia and current challenges for the sector, concerning the on-selling of electricity, unfit-for-purpose state legislation and inconsistency among local councils determining LLC approvals.
AS4970 Professional Development Seminar
TREENET are presenting AS4970 Professional Development, a seminar unpacking how the implementation of the Australian Standard AS4970 can be used to retain and manage trees while supporting urban development.
Taking place on 19 June 2025, the seminar will cover local practices, policies and systems of implementation – exploring how to achieve better outcomes for all stakeholders, including developers, local government planning officers, urban tree managers, and community interest groups.
Walk away with an improved understanding of:
- the benefits and legal obligations associated with the use of this Australian Standard
- the knowledge of the tools and resources available to your profession to achieve better tree retention outcomes
Emerging Leaders
The second cohort of six mentees in the Emerging Leaders Program attended their Meet and Greet session on 1 May 2025 at the UDIA office. During the session, they received a comprehensive briefing on the mentoring component of the program, along with guidance on drafting their individual development plans and preparing for their upcoming mentoring sessions. A DISC personality profiling session was also conducted to help participants gain a deeper understanding of their personal and professional strengths. The session concluded with informing the mentees on who their mentors are and a discussion of the next steps in the program.
State Government calls for builders to deliver more than 1,000 new social and affordable homes
This week the state government launched their latest social and affordable home building program. Closing 3 June tenders for the program, which include 14 build-to-rent developments consisting of 1,145 new homes comprising of affordable and social housing, are now open
Supported by $443 million between the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) and the National Housing Accord Fund (HNAF) the developments will be built for a minimum ‘Silver Livable’ standard under the national Livable Housing Design guidelines, delivering a 7-star NatHERS energy and thermal efficiency rating.
Half of the developments will be located around new METRONET stations across Perth – including Ellenbrook, Cannington, Midland, Redcliffe and Ballajura ranging from three to nine storey buildings. The remaining developments will be delivered across Wellard, Woodbridge, White Gum Valley, Rivervale, Butler, Subiaco, Bassendean, Kelmscott and Perth City Link.
Once completed, the homes will be sold to Community Housing Providers to maintain each complex.
More information for the program, and tender are available at https://developmentwa.com.au/projects/residential/housing/overview.