From the CEO

As you know, I’m a big fan of insightful quotes and often weave them into my weekly communique. So I wanted to start off this week by sharing a fantastic quote from our Minister for Housing, the Hon. John Carey MLA that we have taken directly from our industry luncheon last week…

“I want to assure you, and I’ll give a shout out, UDIA presented to our committee, you have fantastic advocates. Some of the measures that were announced as part of the budget is directly the result of the lobbying efforts by the UDIA. So we take your advocacy seriously. And we do want to work with the sector in regard to future land supply.”

This, our valued members, is the reason we do what we do. All of the hours of working collaboratively with our volunteer committees, Councillors and government stakeholders to curate advocacy and policy positions that resonate with the key decision makers is what UDIA is all about. Our latest report, Housing Ready, is directly aimed at ensuring we have a development ready pipeline of supply over the short, medium and longer term.

I’ve been humbled by the incredibly positive feedback we have received across the board since the release of the report last Friday. It is a credit to the UDIA team, volunteers and member community of which I am extremely proud to be associated with. We have a lot of work still to do, however we have great momentum and member support – and we are just hitting our straps.

Social housing top of mind

Last Friday we were proud to host our Industry Luncheon with the Minister for Housing; Homelessness; Lands; Local Government, the Hon. John Carey MLA as we explored the topic of Delivering Shelter through the Perfect Storm.

Minister Carey started the event with an impassioned presentation highlighting the measures the State Government are taking to assist with the delivery of social housing.  While the State Government is committed to delivering on their social housing targets, the Minister did highlight the reticence from many in the community around the inclusion of social housing product in their area.  This is a perspective that needs to change if we can successfully deliver product on the ground.

To read the article in full, click here.

Housing Ready released

During our Industry Luncheon with the Hon. John Carey MLA last week, UDIA WA launched a new report directly targeted at ensuring we have a development ready pipeline.

Housing affordability and supply were number one on the federal political agenda. As Australia opens up to the world and the migration machine kicks into gear, there are genuine fears about the capacity of our housing markets across the continuum and across the country to provide sufficient housing choice at a price most Australians can afford.

Our new report, Housing Ready, is focused on ensuring a pipeline of affordable supply through four key recommendations and follows on from last year’s Housing our Community report, that provided a comprehensive picture of Perth’s housing supply as at June 2021.

To download the report, click here.

UDIA in Action

It’s been another busy week for the Policy Team with the second Industry Workforce Standing Advisory Group meeting, which highlighted that in addition to the existing identified challenges with the need for skilled labour, the industry is also facing issues with a lack of trainers and lecturers in trades professions.

The Liveability Strategic Committee met with a focus on the Medium Density Housing Code which is being drafted and prepared to improve the design quality of medium density housing.

There were also rich discussions with the Economic Strategic Committee, with updates on Developer Contribution Schemes and development timeframes.

New edition of The Urbanist released

UDIA WA are proud to release the latest edition of The Urbanist magazine, our thought-leadership publication, which in this edition focuses on Community Engagement

In this edition we take a deep-dive into the fantastic work the development industry does around community engagement and we provide new ideas and innovative case studies to challenge and inspire readers.

Following on from Reconciliation week, we discuss how to better engage with Traditional Owners of the land in which we work, look at how the right community engagement strategy can lead to effective infill outcomes as well as take a sneak peek at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane 2032 and the impact this will have on development in Queensland and across the country.

We feature expert voices from around the world in addition to some key local inputs from the following:

  • Kado Muir, National Native Title Council Chair
  • Queensland Premier Anastasia Palazczuk
  • Former Mayor of Subiaco Penny Taylor
  • Paul Blackburne, Executive Chairman of Blackburne
  • Natalie Busch, Perth Managing Principal of Hassell
  • Felicia Brady, Founder of FTB Consult
  • Jimmy Murphy, Co-Founder of Town Teams
  • And Many more

This edition also features an insight into the importance of mental health awareness with an interview with Kendall Whyte, Founder of the Blue Tree Project.

Our thanks also go to the Hon. Rita Saffioti MLA and Kate Oosterhof for providing opinion pieces for this edition.

To read this new edition, click here or to read previous versions of The Urbanist, click here.

Hard copies will be delivered direct to members and should arrive in the coming days.

WA employment still strongest in the country

Despite a 0.2% increase to the unemployment rate, Western Australia once again boasts the lowest unemployment rate in the country at just 3.1%.

While the unemployment rate has increased slightly on the figures recorded for April, WA’s participation rate also increased on last month to sit at 69.6%, the highest of all the States.

Nationally the unemployment rate maintained its low 3.9% rate which was recorded in April with the participation rate increasing by 0.3% to sit at 66.7% in May.

The underemployment rate in WA dropped -0.7% to sit at 5.5%, equal lowest of all States with the National Underemployment rate dropping -0.4% to sit at 5.7%.

In falling to 5.7% this underemployment rate is lowest rate since August 2008. The underutilisation rate, which combines the unemployment and underemployment rates, decreased 0.3 percentage points to 9.6%. This was at its lowest level since April 1982.

Join WA’s thought leaders

Time is running out for anyone wishing to be part of the conversation around how we can develop Western Australia as THE place to live, work, play and invest.

UDIA WA has carefully curated a one day summit that will explore the new projects and precincts that are shaping our city and State as a place of choice to live, work, play and invest and is an excellent opportunity for delegates to delve into the detail and learn how some of our most iconic destinations are being reimagined for the future.

To join us for what will be an incredible spectacle of ideas for the future of WA, click here.

Our thanks go to Industry Partner DevelopmentWA for supporting this event.

Reforms delivering boost to social housing supply in regional WA

Dozens of underutilised and long-term vacant Government Regional Officer Homes (GROH) have been transferred to the public housing stock, following a State-wide assessment of the GROH portfolio.

The review was requested by Housing Minister John Carey, as part of a reform agenda to boost the availability of social housing, particularly in regional Western Australia.

As part of the review, a total of 39 properties have now been transferred to public housing stock, providing a critical boost in the availability of social housing in a number of regional towns across the State. A number of additional GROH homes have also been provided to regional local governments and other non-government organisations.

The 39 properties transferred to the public housing stock are located in a number of regions, including:

  • Pilbara (13);
  • South-West (8);
  • Mid-West/Gascoyne (6);
  • Kimberley (5);
  • Wheatbelt (4);
  • Great Southern (2); and
  • Peel (1).

The Government is investing $2.4 billion in the next four years on social housing and homelessness measures, including the delivery of 3,300 new social homes.

$200 million will also be invested to deliver improvements and expand the availability of GROH properties across the State.

The Government will continue to actively review the GROH portfolio to ensure the use of all housing is being maximised.

WA Building and Construction Consultative Committee established

This week Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston announced the establishment of the Western Australian Building and Construction Consultative (BCC) Committee.

The BCC Committee will be a forum for major industry stakeholders to discuss and provide advice to the State Government on economic, industrial relations, safety, diversity and workforce management issues in WA’s commercial construction sector.

It will also play a key role in promoting an environment that will stimulate building activity, skills development and jobs growth in the sector.

Membership of the BCC Committee includes building industry peak bodies, major employers, trade unions representing building and construction workers, and relevant State Government agencies.

Reg Howard-Smith has been appointed as the Chairperson of the BCC Committee, bringing with him considerable expertise in his role as Chair of the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund.

Team UDIA for Vinnies CEO Sleepout

UDIA WA is proud to announce we have a team of volunteers for this year’s Vinnies Australia CEO Sleepout!

The UDIA WA team includes UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck, CLE Town Planning + Design Managing Director Jane Bennett, Parcel Property General Manager Land Jeremy Cordina, Celsius Land Managing Director, Brenton Downing, Celsius Property Group Managing Director Richard Pappas and Construction Training Fund CEO Tiffany Allen.

If you would like to support the team and donate to this year’s CEO Sleepout, head here for more information.

Time running out to book in for module 3

Taking place on Monday 20 June the third module in our 6-Day Professional Development course is ideal for anybody looking to understand more about how to create a successful project.

From insights into place making and urban design to developing an effective community engagement strategy and optimising your project’s market position and branding, this module takes you through the practicalities of successful project development.

Registrations for module three close on Friday 17 June. For more information on this module and to register, click here.

Join UDIA WA’s RAP Working Group – call for EOI

UDIA WA recently established a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group to assist the Institute in providing leadership to the broader urban development industry in respect to reconciliation and more meaningful engagement with the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we and our members operate.

The Group will soon commence a series of engagement meetings and consultation with relevant stakeholders so that we can listen and learn in order to develop our first ‘Reflect’ RAP in partnership with members of the Aboriginal community.

Currently our RAP Working Group is made up of two members from UDIA WA Council, two UDIA WA staff members and two members from the UDIA WA Diversity Committee. We are now seeking two further members from the broader UDIA WA membership.

If you have background, experience and/or expertise relevant to the development of a RAP, we would love to hear from you.  Please send expressions of interest to join the working group to Gemma Osiejak: gosiejak@udiawa.com.au.

Please include a brief overview of your relevant experience to date.  We aim to appoint two new members prior to the next working group meeting on Thursday 21 July.  Contact Gemma with any queries related to the working group.