From the CEO
I was fortunate to listen to a chap called Chris Riddell this morning at a breakfast hosted by RAC WA. Chris is a human futurist, who took the audience on a journey through the hyper-disruption we are experiencing as a global community and the impact of technology on our human experience.
The key takeout from my perspective is the rise of what Chris describes as ‘blended experiences’ – that is, the merging of our physical and virtual worlds and how that is playing out in our everyday lives. Combined with the volume of data that we now have at our fingertips, those organisations that harness the power of technology & data are the ones that will thrive and lead positive change for the betterment of our communities.
How we live now and how we choose to live in the future is fundamental to curating great places. Whether that be in a home, work or social context – as a development industry and as a society we must be responding now in a design and infrastructure sense to adapt to a world that is volatile and changing rapidly.
It is with this in mind that I encourage you to take the time out to join UDIA members from around the country at our National Congress hosted right here in Perth from 27-29 March. This is a timely opportunity to consider our future as an industry, understand the latest relevant insights from an economic, market and social perspective and to connect with other like-minded people on creating the great places of the future. I will see you there.
Development Ready Pipeline on the horizon
UDIA WA is excited to launch our Development Ready Pipeline (DRP) pilot project at our industry luncheon tomorrow. The project aims to better track future housing and land supply.
The DRP pilot project has been created by UDIA WA in partnership with industry and supported by various government agencies so that we can accurately track the supply of land that is likely to come to the market over the next ten years and in what realistic timeframes that land can be delivered.
Currently, we do not have an accurate picture of our land supply that considers current zoning, infrastructure servicing timing, planning and environmental constraints and other factors that can impact on the delivery of land to the market.
Having a clearer picture of the land supply pipeline allows industry and government to plan accordingly to ensure there is a consistent and adequate supply of land to avoid critical shortages like what we have seen in recent years.
In detail, the DRP pilot project will produce a development industry curated assessment of the short- and medium-term pipeline of actual land supply for forward residential development over a ten-year pipeline.
The project has been informed by in depth surveys of developers with land holdings in greenfield and infill areas in the Perth Metropolitan Area as well as a range of other metrics and mapping tools, including GIS sieve mapping.
We are looking forward to providing more details on the project findings following the launch tomorrow.
UDIA WA Policy Team In Action
This week closed out the Strategic Advisory Group meetings with Regulation and Tax meeting on Monday to work through regulation and tax issues causing pain points in the industry and how they relate to UDIA WA’s Policy Priorities.
In relation to the Policy Priorities for 2023, UDIA WA Council met on Wednesday and fine tuning the priorities before they are released more broadly was on the agenda. Your Council continue to work strategically to tackle the issues impacting on the industry and ensure that the Institute’s efforts are focused on effectively representing the industry as the community creators.
Unemployment on the rise
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.7 per cent in January, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). this is compare to 3.5 per cent in December.
The seasonally adjusted underemployment rate remained at 6.1 per cent, 0.4 percentage points below January 2022.
Western Australia’s unemployment rate remains one of the lowest in the country at 3.6%. Only New South Wales (3.1%) and the ACT (3.4%) have lower rates.
The ABS has attributed the rise in the unemployment rate to the season, with January traditionally being a transitional time for some workers.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said today that the lift in unemployment was an expected consequence of the global economic turmoil and rising interest rates.
The Reserve Bank has raised interest rates to 3.35 per cent over nine consecutive meetings in its fight against high inflation, which reached a 32-year high of 7.8 per cent in December.
Visit some of Perth’s Best Projects
The UDIA National Congress Study Tours provide an unrivalled opportunity to experience and learn from some of WA’s most innovative and best-practice developments.
The full program for the Study Tours has now been finalised with details around what is on offer is as follows:
Study Tour 1 – Shining in the City of Lights
Experience some of the most iconic projects in Perth. This tour starts at Elizabeth Quay before heading to the award winning Peninsula by Mirvac and finishing off with an exclusive tour of Optus Stadium, recently named best venue in the country for the third year in a row!
Study Tour 2 – The Best of West(ern) Suburbs
The ideal study tour for anyone wanting to see exemplary infill development. Be one of the first to visit the newly completed One Subiaco by Blackburne before taking in Montario Quarter by DevelopmentWA and Hesperia and finishing up at DevelopmentWA’s award-winning Claremont on the Park.
Study Tour 3 – From Port to Pub – Reimagining Fremantle
Perfect for visitors and locals alike, this study tour starts at the innovative Montreal Commons by OP Properties before the City of Fremantle take you on a walk through the exciting transformation that is happening in WA’s stunning port city.
Study Tour 4 – Live, work, play on the coast of WA
Experience Perth’s burgeoning Northern Coastal Corridor up close and personal. Starting at the heart of WA’s next major precinct in Alkimos, before taking in the sights and sounds of the stunning Indian Ocean at what will be a world-class recreational, boating, residential and tourism precinct, the Ocean Reef Marina.
Study Tour 5 – Sustainability & Innovation
If you’re looking for an absolute masterclass in sustainability and innovation, this is the tour for you. First head to the National Environmental award winner Roe Highway Logistics Park by Hesperia, then head to an exemplar in EnviroDevelopment excellence at Cedar Woods’ Bushmead. Finish the tour at Australia’s first 9+star green home by PEET.
Wind down from a day of touring with networking drinks in the exhibition hall from 5.30pm.
Registered delegates will soon be sent an email allowing them to choose their study tour of choice, however with the tours being on a first in best dressed basis, if you have not already registered now is the time to do so to ensure you can enjoy the tour of your choice.
For more information and to register, click here.
Expressions of Interest: Join DevelopmentWA’s Land Redevelopment Committees
DevelopmentWA is the State Government’s central land and development agency – creating places for people to live, work, visit and do business.
Under the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority Act 2011, DevelopmentWA is transforming places within five redevelopment areas – Scarborough, Subiaco, Armadale, METRONET East and Central Perth.
Each of these redevelopment areas is governed by a Land Redevelopment Committee, which is responsible for reviewing Development Applications and approving amendments to planning policies, design guidelines and heritage inventories.
DevelopmentWA is seeking Expressions of Interest from individuals interested in becoming a common member sitting on all five Land Redevelopment Committees.
The successful applicant will have practical knowledge and experience in one or more of the following fields: urban planning; architecture; heritage; urban design; and property development.
Applications close 2pm AWST on Monday 6 March 2023.
For more information and to apply, click here.
Western Power urging the public to Make the Safe Call
UDIA WA’s Industry Partner Western Power has launched a new public safety campaign reminding the community to Make the Safe Call.
Officially launching last weekend and running to mid-March, the campaign highlights that when it comes to electrical safety for the community, every bit helps.
“Weather can be unpredictable and with that can come unexpected electrical emergencies. While scenarios like vehicles hitting poles or debris and vegetation contacting powerlines are hard to plan for, we’re reminding the community of the steps they can take to help keep everyone safe,” Western Power Executive Manager for Asset Management, Gair Landsborough said.
“Through this campaign, we’re encouraging the community to call 13 13 51 in an electrical emergency and stay eight metres away from any damaged powerlines.
“It’s important for property owners to know that they need to engage a professional to trim vegetation near power lines and to tie down loose items ahead of a storm to prevent them flying into network infrastructure.
“Even the smallest contributions and actions from people can help make a big difference to community safety when it comes to electrical emergencies.”
Two common causes of safety hazards and power outages are tree branches and debris falling onto powerlines (usually due to high winds, stormy weather or property owners not trimming vegetation) and vehicles coming into contact with power poles and lines.
“The safety of our crews and the community underpins everything we do and we work year-round to continue to maintain a safe and reliable network through programs like undergrounding and drone inspections,” he said.
While the official launch of the campaign will kick off this Sunday 12 February, regional WA got an early look at the campaign in January.
Ads will run from this weekend on TV, radio, online and on billboards in an effort to remind the community that no matter what the electrical emergency, Make the Safe Call to Western Power on 13 13 51.
For more information and to view the campaign visit here.
Check out our new and improved Member Experience
Last week UDIA WA released details of our new and improved Member Portal on our website including access to our Member Directory and we encourage you log in to access all the exclusive member information we have available if you have not done so yet.
UDIA WA’s new and improved Member Portal is now LIVE and available to ALL individuals who are an employee of a UDIA WA member organisation!
Simply click this link to access your login details.
The UDIA WA ‘member only’ section provides our members with exclusive access to the following content:
- Our new and improved Members Directory, which includes contact details for all of our current members
- Every edition of our thought-leadership magazine The Urbanist
- Every edition of monthly data publication Urban Intelligence
- Every edition of quarterly property market publication the Urban Development Index
- Our Diversity Toolkit – designed to guide members through developing a Diversity & Inclusion policy
- Our weekly Land Snapshot of land sales across Perth
- And much more!
The new UDIA WA member portal has been developed based on feedback from members and to ensure an enhanced member experience.
To access the new member portal, click here or contact udia@udiawa.com.au if you experience any issues.
Certificate IV Course – Enrolments for February 2023 Intake Now Open
Enrolments for our next intake of the BSB40920 Certificate IV in Project Management Practice, Specialising in Property Development course are now open.
BSB40920 Certificate IV in Project Management Practice, Specialising in Property Development is the only nationally-recognised qualification of its kind that teaches the project management competencies unique to the property development industry.
The course has been written by UDIA NSW in partnership with its members and vocational education experts. The course teaches the critical skills of project management such as identifying project scope, managing time, cost and quality, contract negotiation, team engagement and stakeholder communication.
The qualification is delivered over 18 weeks through a blended method of online self-directed learning and regular tutorials. Upon achieving a competent result for all course units of competency, graduates will attain a BSB40920 Certificate IV in Project Management Practice, Specialising in Property Development issued by our RTO, McMillan.
For more information and to register your place, click here.