The Urbanist Live with Nigel Satterley
The latest episode of our podcast series The Urbanist Live is now available to listen, this week UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck sits down with well-known industry identity Nigel Satterley to discuss the current state of the market and where the development industry is heading as well as Satterley’s 40th anniversary and Nigel’s advice on leadership and longevity in a competitive industry.
Listen to the latest episode here.
Latest Market Stats released
Earlier this week UDIA WA released our latest monthly Urban Intelligence report which highlights the keys stats and facts relevant to industry from the past month.
This edition includes a feature article from UDIA WA Director Policy and Research Chris Green which analyses WA’s economic recovery and finds several positive indicators that suggest WA is in for a strong rebound.
To view this article and the rest of the key information from this edition, click here.
UDIA launches new report on community infrastructure
UDIA WA released new findings into the management of development contribution schemes at our final industry breakfast for 2020 on Wednesday morning.
Parcel Property General Manager (Land) and UDIA WA Vice President Jeremy Cordina kicked things off with an overview around the principles of contribution schemes before signalling why these are not always as successful as first envisioned.
Mr Cordina highlighted that a lack of transparency, trust and collaboration were among the reasons why contribution schemes do not always work as intended before highlighting a successful case study of the Western Power High Voltage Pool model which has returned around $3.8m to developers since being looked into by UDIA WA.
Len Kosova and Darren Coper presented findings from the Developer Contributions Plans review commissioned by UDIA which provides an in-depth insight into how DCPs work in the Perth and Peel region and what can be improved upon ahead of the release of the proposed reforms to State Planning Policy 3.6 – Development contributions for infrastructure.
The review found that the total value of DCPs in Perth and Peel is at least $1.99 billion, of which $1.72 billion is funded by developer contributions.
The ten findings and recommendations detailed in the review are:
- Better overall governance required
- Establish an independent body for governance oversight (and even administration) of DCPs – e.g. Western Power’s HVSubdivision Pool, or DAPs.
- Improved accessibility, transparency & consistency of information is required
- Introduce mandatory requirements on what, where and how DCP information is to be published.
- Collate and maintain a central repository of all DCP information updated regularly –e.g. LG Schemes and Structure Plans library on WAPC website.
- Greater effort is needed to secure external funding
- Introduce regular reporting standards for external funding opportunities that are available, applied for, attained and unsuccessful.
- Limit the proportion of certain higher order DCP cost items which can be funded from developer contributions.
- Some DCPs have become too big, complex and expensive
- Introduce standards for modelling the financial tolerances and economic impact of proposed DCP costs.
- Consider a reasonable cap on traditional infrastructure items, similar to community facilities.
- A more rigorous process of consultation, external review & approval is required
- Introduce standards for initial and ongoing industry engagement and independent external review of DCPs.
- DCPs must be reviewed annually, approved by independent oversight body & adjusted accordingly
- Independent DCP oversight body to publish standards for annual DCP reviews and reporting –compliance required prior to contributions being charged.
- Delivery of DCP items must be realistic & achievable
- Require DCPs to be accompanied by a comprehensive delivery and cashflow program, and timing commitment incorporated into the LGs IPRF.
- Empower oversight body to interrogate and intervene in infrastructure delivery delays, particularly where substantial DCP funds are already being held.
- Excess contributions should be refunded without delay
- Standardise the conditions under which excess contributions are to be refunded and provide a process for escalation, arbitration and appeal where disagreement arises.
- Better resourcing of LG DCP management
- Introduce standards for transparently recording and reporting administration costs.
- Establish standardised position descriptions and KPIs where a key part of the role is DCP administration.
- Improved support & guidance is needed for LGs when introducing and administering DCPs
- Introduce a best practice local government ‘Toolkit’ for creation and management of DCPs.
WAPC Chair David Caddy concluded the event, providing a Government perspective on developer contributions before all of the speakers were joined by City of Kalamunda CEO Rhonda Hardy for an interactive Q&A discussion facilitated by UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck.
Feedback from those attending the event was that it was an informative and useful session that provided relevant interesting information in a well-structured way with a clear pathway for improvement in the management of DCPs.
UDIA WA will continue to work with government on these issues as the release of SPP 3.6 is imminent.
To view images from the event, click here.
Tanya Steinbeck to feature in AHURI webinar
At 9am tomorrow morning, UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck will provide insights to an AHURI research webinar entitled Housing policy responses to COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented crisis facing the housing system and the people who depend upon it. So large was the potential risk arising from the crisis, that a comprehensive and coordinated, whole-of government response was required.
This new AHURI webinar presents the findings from two new research projects examining housing policy responses to COVID-19; Responding to the pandemic, can building homes rebuild Australia? led by Professor Steven Rowley of Curtin University and Policy coordination and housing outcomes during COVID-19 led by Dr Chris Mason of Swinburne University of Technology.
Tanya will respond to both papers during the webinar and provide her expert knowledge as part of an audience Q&A facilitated by AHURI’s Head of Development, Tom Alves.
For more information and to register, click here.
Community Title consultation opens
Earlier this week, Lands Minister Ben Wyatt released the draft Community Titles Regulations 2020 for public comment, moving Western Australia closer to the expected introduction of community schemes next year.
Community schemes will provide WA’s property sector with a valuable new option for delivering complex and mixed-use developments.
They will include features of strata and survey-strata schemes, which continue to operate under the recently amended Strata Titles Act 1985, but with some important distinctions.
Community schemes will allow for a mix of both land schemes and building schemes within the same community scheme. They will also enable different land uses such as residential, retail and commercial, to be combined under one scheme through multiple sub-schemes, each with their own management body and by-laws.
This tenure is likely to benefit future mixed-use developments, by supporting different types of schemes to more effectively co-exist within the same overarching scheme. One of the most anticipated flow-on benefits from a community scheme structure is a fairer and more efficient approach to how common property is managed across mixed-use schemes.
Developers will be able to incorporate community schemes into their new planning proposals once the Community Titles Act 2018 takes effect, which is expected to occur by mid-2021 pending feedback received on the draft regulations.
Information and resources on community titles, including the draft regulations, are available through http://www.strata.wa.gov.au.
UDIA WA are providing a submission in response to these draft regulations, if you would like to provide comment email policy@udiawa.com.au.
First project approved under significant projects pathway
A $50 million Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant in Mount Magnet is the first application to be determined under the new planning laws brought in earlier this year which aim to cut red tape and provide immediate economic support through significant, job-creating projects.
The development was approved by the Western Australian Planning Commission this week and is anticipated to inject approximately $100 million of investment and create approximately 70 jobs during construction and 30 full-time jobs for local workers once operational, providing a welcome boost to the State’s regional economy.
The LNG Plant will supply gas to customers in the Mid-West region, including the local mining sector, substantially reducing carbon emissions by some 90,000 tonnes a year.
Construction will commence in coming months with the facility expected to be operational by mid-2021.
Since July, more than 45 proponents have expressed interest in the new assessment pathway including proposals in both metropolitan and regional areas with potential to attract thousands of jobs and over $3 billion of private investment to the State.
Further details about other significant development applications and the new planning process can be found here.
Optimal tree selection
The Water Corporation have recently been collaborating with arboricultural consultants Paperbark Technologies to produce a list of Waterwise Trees and provide developers with an easy how-to guide in selecting the right tree for the right location.
Tree selection is important not only for the aesthetics of a development but the protection of underground utility assets and the longevity and health of the tree. The new brochure is a guide of waterwise species which are recommended for planting in urban areas such as public open space and street scapes.
The guide also includes a number of species that the Water Corporation do not recommend for planting due to the high risk of invasive roots, risk to the community and also high water needs. This list is designed to be used in conjunction with the Utilities Providers Code of Practice Guide.
To view the new guide, click here.
Report finds creating a more sustainable WA would boost jobs and economy
Creating a more sustainable or ‘green’ state would deliver 55,000 jobs, 49,000 of which would be in regional WA and add $16 billion to the Western Australian economy, while helping to significantly reduce WA’s environmental footprint, a new Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report has found.
The report, Green Shoots: Opportunities to grow a sustainable WA Economy, identifies significant opportunities for the State to reduce the negative environmental impact of industries across its regions, and provides a roadmap for WA to transition to a more sustainable and resilient economic future.
Report co-author and Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Director Professor Alan Duncan said the report suggests that diversifying into more sustainable industries such as renewable power generation, lithium mining and processing would create a pathway to greater economic value and better employment opportunities for the state, particularly in regional WA.
Key findings from the report include:
- A green diversification strategy could create 55,000 additional jobs, 49,000 of which would be in regional WA. This would also see some $16 billion added to the WA economy;
- Australia has slightly decreased greenhouse gas emissions over the last five years but WA they have risen by 12%;
- WA remains one of only two states without a renewable energy target, the other state being New South Wales;
- Electricity generation is the biggest single producer of emissions Australia-wide;
- WA has the lowest proportion of renewable electricity generation of any state at only 8.9 per cent.
For more information and to download the report, click here.
WA unveils roadmap to reduce plastics
The State Government has released a new strategy to reduce single-use plastics in Western Australia.
Plan for Plastics (PfP) will be rolled out in two main stages. Regulations will be developed and implemented by 2023 for the State-wide phase-out of plastic plates, cutlery, stirrers, straws, thick plastic bags, polystyrene food containers and helium balloon releases.
After these initial actions, the State Government will phase-out plastic barrier/produce bags, cotton buds with plastic shafts, polystyrene packaging, microbeads, and oxo-degradable plastics.
More information about WA’s Plan for Plastics can be found at here.
Impacts of climate change on property valuations
Researchers at the University of Melbourne and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have been awarded funding to consider the impacts of climate change on property valuation.
Dr Georgia Warren-Myers, from the University of Melbourne, and Dr Lucy Cradduck, from QUT, submitted a successful research proposal titled Valuation @ Risk, which aims to better understand the impacts of climate change on property valuation and equip property professionals with tools and methodologies to consider the risks.
Drs Warren-Myers and Cradduck said they were delighted at being awarded the funding and that the research endeavours to develop professional understanding of climate change risks to property and the implications and actions required in valuation practice.
Site Security Update
An application has been made to the Plumbing Licensing Board to revoke a plumber licence after he was found guilty and fined $5000 for stealing a hot water system from a BGC Housing Group site in January 2020.
At that time, Police executed a search warrant in Mariginiup and located another four stolen hot water systems. On October 21 PACT investigators tracked another stolen hot water system from a BGC Housing Group site in Salter Point and as a result of investigations Kensington Police have charged an adult male with stealing, more info here.
October crime statistics show a slight increase in reports from previous months, with November traditionally trending a higher number of reported crimes, more info here.
To assist the industry in reducing theft, ensure you report all building and construction industry crime.
Arrival numbers pick up slightly
Following another month of international border restrictions; arrival numbers into Australia remained low during September, however there was a slight rise on the previous month’s data.
A total of 3,720 short-term trips were recorded, which was a decrease of 99.5% when compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
The USA was the largest source country, accounting for 16% of all visitor arrivals.
Nationally, over the month of September, the number of permanent arrivals totaled 920 (+17.95% MoM, -87.77% YoY). The number of long-term residents returning totaled 2530 (+3.69% MoM, -76.2% YoY). The number of long-term visitors arriving totaled 880 (+44.26% MoM, -97.81% YoY). The number of short-term visitors arriving totaled 3720 (+22.77% MoM, -99.46% YoY).
In WA, there were 300 short term visitor arrivals (-99.6% YoY) with the largest source countries being the UK, USA and Singapore. For visitors arriving in WA for a long-term trip (1 year or more) there were 80 arrivals (-97.4% YoY).
UDIA requests for feedback
UDIA is working on submissions and responses in relation to the following. Members are encouraged to provide feedback and comments to inform our submissions to policy@udiawa.com.au by the specified dates below:
Review of the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 DUE 25th November 2020
https://consult.dwer.wa.gov.au/waste-policy/review-of-the-waste-avoidance-and-resource-recover/
Community Titles Regulations DUE 9th December 2020
https://strata.wa.gov.au/community-titles/timeline-for-change-1
Discussion Paper ‘Waste Not, Want Not – Valuing Waste as a Resource – Proposed legislative framework for waste-derived materials’ DUE 18th December 2020
https://consult.dwer.wa.gov.au/waste-policy/waste-not-want-not/
Draft State Planning Policy – SPP 4.2 Activity Centres DUE 12th Feb 2021