Industry Issues
R-Codes Reform and Perth & Peel ‘Health Check’ Revealed
UDIA WA has welcomed the announcement by Planning and Lands Minister, John Carey MLA this morning on reforms to the Residential Design Codes (R-Codes).
UDIA WA has been engaged in the Stakeholder Advisory Group and ongoing consultation in the lead up to today’s announcement, which focuses on simplifying the R-Codes and facilitating greater infill development in further efforts to increase housing supply.
A key proposed reform is to abolish the average lot size requirement for land coded R20 and below, allowing residential property owners on 700 square metre blocks to subdivide – down from the current requirement of 900 square metres. According the State Government, the R20 density code generally applies to the most common suburban residential properties across the Perth metro area, with the potential for this change to enable over 50,000 existing properties to be subdivided.
Read the UDIA WA Member Alert in full here, outlining the key R-Code reforms.
The Cook Labor Government has also released the ‘health check’ of Perth and Peel @ 3.5million. The health check acknowledges that Perth’s annual urban infill rate has been below the 47 per cent target, with this most recent data showing an increase from 34 per cent in 2023 to 39 per cent in 2024.
According to the Health Check report, the principles that underpin Perth and Peel @ 3.5million remain sound and appropriate to guide growth towards a population of 3.5 million.
“Delivery of housing is critical to accommodate this growing population in both infill and greenfield locations aligned with the connected city growth scenario,” the Executive Summary states.
“A range of initiatives are underway to support housing delivery and the WAPC is preparing an Action Plan to provide a structured framework for ongoing implementation.
“Perth and Peel @ 3.5million provides the high-level strategy to help manage the challenges and opportunities that emerge as the region grows through an agile and principles-based approach to strategic planning.”
Read the Perth & Peel Health Check.
Read UDIA WA’s R-Codes Reforms Press Release.
To hear more from Minister Carey, and a range of government and industry leaders, register for UDIA WA’s Red Tape Summit on 28 July 2026.
Unpack Perth’s housing supply pipeline
Join us at UDIA’s National Housing Pipeline® (NHP) 2026 Outlook Forums covering Greater Metropolitan Perth’s North, South and Central Regions.
Bringing together an array of Government & industry speakers and panellists, the annual NHP Outlook Forums will unpack the status of residential development supply pipelines and explore the constraints and opportunities for delivering desperately needed housing choice in each region.
Broken down by Local Government Area (LGA) and Sub-Region, each NHP Outlook Forum will provide an update of the ten-year residential development outlook across each of Perth’s growth corridors and major infill locations.
Providing insights into the state of play of ‘development ready’ land supply for new home building, the conversation will cover the plans and initiatives being implemented to resolve infrastructure constraints, planning challenges and blockages hindering forward supply in each region.
For specific updates, discussion, and planning and development insights into key growth nodes including Yanchep-Two Rocks, Alkimos-Eglinton, East Wanneroo, Dayton & Brabham, Bullsbrook, North Ellenbrook and North Ballajura, register for the North NHP Forum.
For key growth nodes including North-East Baldivis, Jandakot/Treeby, East of Kwinana, Karnup and Mundijong, register for the South NHP Forum.
For key growth nodes including Subi East and METRONET Precincts, register for the Central NHP Forum. The Central NHP Outlook Forum will also provide relevant housing program, policy development, and implementation updates.
Event Details
NHP North Forum:
- Date: Thursday 6 August 2026
- Time: 2:30pm – 5:00pm
- Venue: Mandoon Estate, Swan Valley
NHP South Forum:
- Date: Thursday 13 August 2026
- Time: 9:15am – 11:30am
- Venue: City of Cockburn Administration Building
NHP Central Forum:
- Date: Tuesday 18 August 2026
- Time: 2:30pm – 5:00pm
- Venue: City of Stirling Reception Hall
New appointments and renewals to WAPC and its committees
UDIA WA congratulates former REIWA CEO Cath Hart on her appointment as a board member of the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC), and to Urbis Director and valued UDIA WA member David Cresp and Sean Morrison for their appointments to WAPC’s Executive, Finance and Property Committee and Statutory Planning Committee.
Their appointments come as Megan Adair, Rebecca Moore and Rachel Chapman concluded their terms on 30 June 2026.
“Cath Hart, David Cresp and Sean Morrison will add to the broad range of experience already present within the WAPC and its statutory committees,” said Planning and Lands Minister John Carey. “I congratulate them on their appointment and look forward to their participation in shaping planning and development in WA”.
We’d also like to extend our congratulations to UDIA WA Councillor Jane Bennett and Helen Brookes for their re-appointments to the WAPC board for two- and four-year terms respectively; to Cr Caroline Knight for their re-appointment as a member of the Statutory Planning Committee; and to Sue Hurt and Cr Charlie Zannino for their re-appointment as a members of the Swan Valley Statutory Planning Committee.
We look forward to our continued work with the WAPC moving forward.
Members fly through Skyfields’ Redcliffe Station Precinct
On Wednesday 24 June, UDIA WA members were treated to an exclusive site tour by our Placemaking Partner Skyfields by Perth Airport.
Highlighting the strategic role of Dunreath Village and the town centre for the Redcliffe Station Precinct, attendees were given a first-hand view of the development pipeline and the work Skyfields is undertaking to transform the area into a vibrant and connected community. We were also the first to visit the brand-new precinct Dunreath Green, a 26-hectare mixed-use destination that has received MDP approval for drawcard retail and lifestyle attractions.
A massive thank you to Clay Thomas and the team at Skyfields by Perth Airport for presenting this site tour.
View photos from the site tour.
Help close the skills gap with BuildSkills
Demand for skilled workers across Australia continues to outpace supply. To help address the skilled workers shortage, BuildSkills Australia is raising awareness of Vocational Education and Training (VET) career pathways to encourage experienced trade professionals – particularly with backgrounds in the building and construction, water and property sectors – to consider training roles.
For more information, visit BuildSkills Australia.
Latent Defects and Post-Limitation Liability
Dan Morris Legal has written a series of articles to help builders and building consultants navigate several legal cases and understand their potential exposure to liability.
The first article is available to read here and we will share more over the coming weeks.
National Updates
Housing industry unites to warn government
UDIA National, Housing Industry Association and the Property Council of Australia have issued a joint media statement against the Federal Government’s proposed changes to capital gains tax (CGT), negative gearing and Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) investment rules.
“The housing industry has spoken with one voice today, this policy will make it harder to fund new housing and will ultimately reduce supply,” said UDIA National President, Oscar Stanley.
The proposed changes will reduce housing supply, increase rents and make it harder to deliver the homes Australia needs.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil joins the UDIA National Podcast
Speaking with UDIA National President Oscar Stanley on UDIA National’s podcast, Federal Housing Minister the Hon. Clare O’Neil MP shared that accelerating modern methods of building will be the Government’s next key focus after tax changes are implemented.
Tune into the podcast and listen to the Minister’s comments.