From the CEO
The media love a headline and the latest Building Approvals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) proved excellent fodder this week in the context of the ongoing housing supply crisis impacting across the country. The ABS data showed that for the month of July, approvals rose nationally by 10.4%. At a glance, you could interpret the increase in building approvals across the nation as a positive step forward for housing supply, and of course, seeing positive numbers is always encouraging. However, like with any data set, it is important to lift the lid and look a little closer before drawing any drastic conclusions. As our National President Col Dutton noted in several media interviews about the building approvals this week – one month of positive growth does not make a trend. As Col said, we need to look at the trend over the year to truly understand the circumstances we are in. The overall picture shows that we are building less than we did five years ago, which has a material impact on our ability to achieve anywhere close to the Federal Government’s 1.2 million homes target.
Here in WA, the picture is no different, while for the month of July we saw a 3.7% increase in the number of house building approvals, there was a 7.6% decline in unit approvals. Overall, if we look at the long running average over the last decade, we are 16% below that.
It’s important that we look at any new data in detail, to understand the true picture for the housing supply pipeline. UDIA nationally and at a state level continue to focus on the reality of what the industry, and the market, is currently experiencing and through our evidence-based advocacy we continue to explore and progress real, long-term solutions to getting more homes on the ground, faster.
Sarah Macaulay
Executive Director – Strategy & Policy
New Regulations on Silica
Earlier this week, on 1 September, new regulations regarding silica came into effect. Following a nation-wide ban on engineered stone products that took effect in WA on 1 July, the new regulations recognise that engineered stone is not the only product that can produce fine crystalline silica dust.
“Silicosis is an incurable, debilitating lung disease that can be fatal and is caused by breathing in fine crystalline silica dust.” Minister Simone McGurk said “these new regulations aim to protect the health of all workers who work with crystalline silica, whether it comes from brick dust, concrete dust or silica dust, from tiles to engineered stone“.
The regulations will require employers to assess if the work being undertaken with materials containing crystalline silica is “high risk work”. If deemed high risk a silica risk control plan will need to be implemented to prevent exposure to workers. If a worker is deemed to be at high risk of developing silicosis due to their work, they must be provided with regular health monitoring.
Advertise in the UDIA WA Land Report liftout
The annual UDIA WA Land Report lift out in the West Australian will be published on Saturday 19 October and the feature is a great opportunity to gain exposure to potential buyers.
Book into the Land Report and appeal to 441,000 Saturday readers made up of land buyers and homebuilders with either a full page or half page spread. Be associated with a voice that readers can trust and have your company sit alongside the latest UDIA WA market data, analysis, and commentary.
For more information, download the flyer here.
Latest on Building approvals: UDIA National
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data on building approvals this week show that while approvals rose 10.4% nationally in July, total dwelling approvals are still 5.1% below the five year average.
The results show some positive ground for apartments (nationally) but the overall picture shows that we are building less than we did five years ago. Apartment approvals are down 7.6% in Western Australia.
Over the past 12 months, there was a significant decline in the number of dwelling approvals across the country, with 165,250 dwellings approved, reflecting a decline from 175,130 in the preceding 12-month period.
Critically, to deliver the National Housing Target of 1.2 million homes, industry needs at least 1.33 million approvals over the five years (given an historic attrition rate of 10% between approvals and actual commencements):
That is an average of 264,000 approvals each year for 240,000 completions.
To put this in perspective, over the last five financial years (2019 on), 934,160 dwellings were completed nationally – an average of 186,830 dwellings pa. The previous period (2014–18) was the highest five-year volume of completions ever achieved in Australia with a total of 988,350 completions.
Read the UDIA National Media release here.
Local Governments invited to submit new housing proposals
The Cook Labor Government is calling for submissions from local government to bolster the supply and diversity of social and affordable housing and key worker accommodation across Western Australia.
A new Call for Submissions is open to all Western Australian local governments to work with the State Government through the Department of Communities to deliver a variety of housing and accommodation options in the regions.
Earlier this year, $50 million in grants was made available to registered community housing providers under a call for submissions process to help increase supply and diversity of new and refurbished social housing projects in regional WA. Eligibility for the $50 million grant funding has now been expanded to include local governments.
For more information, local governments can visit the Department Communities website or email CFS-LG@communities.wa.gov.au.
Read the media release for further comment from the Cook Government.
Policy Team in Action
This week, we kicked off the next round of our committee meetings with the Advocacy & Thought Leadership (A&TL) Strategic Committee on Monday and the Education, Connection & Excellence (EC&E) Strategic Committee today.
Key matters discussed by the ATL Committee included the upcoming development of UDIA National’s Federal Election priorities, feedback on the Phase 2 of the Housing Diversity Pipeline, ongoing advocacy around UDIA WA’s priority for the expansion of the infrastructure development fund to support the viability of infill projects and potential solutions to help respond to capability and capacity challenges within local government.
The EC&E Committee discussed work around the continued expansion of UDIA WA’s education program and member strategy to maximise member value.
Early Bird now open for the UDIA National Congress
Join UDIA National at the premier event for the development industry in Australia.
The UDIA National Congress is your chance to hear from high-profile speakers on the latest industry trends, explore international case studies, and discover what’s next in innovation and market demand.
Don’t miss the opportunity to visit award-winning projects across Brisbane, expand your network, and make valuable business connections.
Be a part of the prestigious UDIA National Awards for Excellence, where we’ll showcase finalists from across Australia and crown the 2025 winners!
Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Regulations 2024
Supporting the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030 the Western Australian Government’s e-waste to landfill ban came into effect on 1 July 2024.
The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (e-waste) Regulations 2024 (the Regulations) prohibit the disposal of regulated e-waste to landfill be e-waste service providers, significant entities and landfill operators.
Described in Schedule 1 of the Regulations, regulated e-waste refers to, but is not limited by, the following categories and items:
- screens, information technology and telecommunications equipment
- lighting and lamps (e.g. tube fluorescent lamps, LED products, household ceiling or desk light globes)
- large appliances used in home, office or professional environment (e.g. dishwasher, washing machines and dryers, ovens, rangehoods, large dispensers such as ticket vending machines)
- batteries – all batteries except embedded batteries
- temperature exchange equipment (e.g. air conditioners and white goods such as freezers)
- medical devices (large) that would not, because of their shape or size, fit into a container measuring 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm.
The Regulations create obligations for significant entities, which are defined as a business entity or a public entity, that in relation to any financial year-
a. has 200 or more full-time equivalent employees at the beginning of the financial year; or
b. created, during the immediately preceding financial year, five or more tonnes of regulated e-waste.
Please note that related entities, as defined as related bodies corporate under the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth) section 9, are taken into account when determining whether a business entity is significant entity.
Employees residing outside of Western Australia should not be considered when determining significant entity status.
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has published fact sheets to provide information about the regulations. Topics covered include the responsibilities of significant entities and how to estimate the weight of e-waste for record keeping or reporting purposes.
- E-waste ban – Overview
- E-waste ban – Significant Entity Overview
- E-waste ban – estimating the weight
For further information about data reporting requirements under the Regulations, please contact the Waste Data Team at waste.data@dwer.wa.gov.au
If you have questions about other aspects of the Regulations, email: ewaste@dwer.wa.gov.au or visit E-waste to landfill ban in WA
Streets Alive
Applications for Stream 2 projects funding is now open.
Streets Alive is a community-led funding project delivered by Town Team Movement in partnership with Main Roads WA and the Western Australian Local Government Association.
Streets Alive have set out to change attitudes and behaviours through citizen-led actions, building local capacity and capability, and enhancing street environments.
Grants up to $100,000 are available for eligible projects that either temporarily or permanently change the street environment that are collaboratively designed and installed. Eligible projects re-imagine local roads that encourage slower speeds creating neighbourhoods that are safer places to walk, wheel, ride, play, and drive.
Visit Streets Alive to learn more about the grants, the guidelines, and criteria.