2025-26 Pre- Budget Submission
We are pleased to present our Pre-Budget submission for the 2025/26 State Budget, lodged with the State Treasurer earlier this week.
UDIA WA continues to advocate for a strategic approach to accommodate our rapidly growing population that removes unnecessary barriers and costs to development, streamlines approval processes, and ensures infrastructure is delivered where and when it is needed.
The first budget of this new term of Government represents a critical opportunity to fully fund important State Election Commitments and build additional momentum for addressing WA’s ongoing housing supply challenges. The investment recommendations outlined in our submission seek to:
- Make it easier to create the homes we need;
- Help keep the cost of homes down; and
- Plan for our housing needs, now and for our future.
UDIA WA has welcomed the positive and collaborative relationship we have had with the Labor State Government and we and our members stand ready to continue working together to create great places and housing choice to enable Western Australians to live better lives.
Read the 2025-26 Pre-Budget Submission
HV Pool System Charge Changes
The high voltage subdivision System Charge has been increased to $200/kVA, to be applied effective of 1 May 2025.
As many of our members will be aware, Western Power manages a high voltage (HV) subdivision pool which allows the cost of installing HV infrastructure to be shared among developers of residential subdivisions. The pool reimburses developers who have paid for more than their share of the HV infrastructure and collects funds from developers who make use of excess capacity on that infrastructure.
Western Power and UDIA WA are part of the HV Pool Governance Committee established in 1999 under the HV Pool Agreement. The HV Pool Governance Committee meets every quarter to discuss all matters and values associated with the HV Pool mechanism.
The HV Pool Governance Committee met in April 2025 to review the HV pool data and monitor the pool level, which included discussion of the re-test activities, outcomes, and forecasts.
Through the recent re-test process, an extensive number of projects (38) were deemed eligible for a refund in March 2025.
Ongoing forecasts and reviews along with an increase in re-test activities, indicate upcoming refunds from the HV Pool at a quantum that is expected to reduce the pool balance below the optimum level.
Based on this, it was agreed by HV Pool Governance Committee members that the high voltage subdivision System Charge should be increased from $175/kVA (which had been in effect since 1 January 2024) to $200/kVA (effective as of 1 May 2025).
UDIA WA and Western Power will continue to review charges and rates on a regular basis, to maintain an appropriate pace of reaching the optimum pool balance target.
The new rate applies to:
- Any project created on or after 1 May 2025.
- All existing active projects that have not yet had a quote issued.
The new rate does not apply to:
- Any project that has had a quote already issued; these will attract the old applicable rate for the life of the project regardless of re-quote.
The System Charge Rate along with related charges and parameters has also been updated effective 1 May 2025. Refer to Western Power’s High Voltage Pool Policy page.
Cash rate reduced to 3.85%
In good news for home owners, and with a focus on maintaining a low and stable inflation rate, the Reserve Bank of Australia reduced the cash rate by 25 basis points earlier this week to 3.85%. Peaking at 7.8% during 2022, inflation has been in decline, and during the March quarter annual trimmed mean inflation fell to 2.9% with headline inflation holding at 2.4%.
Due to continued global uncertainty surrounding the final scope of tariffs and reciprocal policy responses, the outlook for growth, employment and inflation has weakened in Australia. Domestically, the outlook continues to also be uncertain – while real household income has experienced growth alongside the easing of financial strain, domestic consumption is expected to grow more slowly than previously predicted. While employment has grown, productivity growth is yet to pick up and the cost of labour continues to be high.
While the Reserve Bank have ongoing concerns about the impact of global instability on the Australian economy, they expect that inflation will stabilise, settling in the desired 2-3% band.
Save the date! 2025 Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner
As we reach the end of May, the project nomination window reaches its halfway point! Open for the 30th year, the Awards for Excellence program is one of WA’s most respected and valued industry awards, providing a fantastic opportunity to showcase your development, team or leadership skills. Don’t let the opportunity pass by – nominations close June 30.
Join Director at Purple Emily Young on Tuesday June 3 for an exclusive member briefing and elevate your project nomination. Emily brings a wealth of experience in public relations, media advocacy, and communication strategy. Leverage her expertise and insight, informed by direct feedback from our panel of judges, to craft a compelling submission that will help set your nomination up for success!
Register for the Member Briefing.
Access this year’s Nominations Kit and view key dates.
Be sure to celebrate 30 years of acknowledging development excellence in WA and save the date for our gala dinner on Saturday 13 September. Registrations for the 2025 Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner will be opening soon!
Sustainable Wood
On Tuesday UDIA WA were pleased to participate in a Sustainable Wood Field Trip organised by Responsible Wood that provided an exclusive opportunity to see key aspects of sustainable forest management and chain of custody certification at work, as well as the future of renewable forest resources.
The tour started by heading to Dwellingup to visit the Forest Product Commission’s Murray Plantation that included a presentation by Brad Hasson highlighting the importance of sustainable forest management and the measures taken to ensure the longevity in the supply of timber production in WA.
Following this, the tour headed to Wesbeam’s bespoke LVL facility which provided behind the scenes insights into their impressive production process that showcased the efficacy and efficiency of their methods to ensure quality timber products are produced quickly and sustainably.
The tour finished with a visit to Murdoch University’s Boola Katitjin building which is WA’s first mass-engineered timber building, with the biophilic design centred around increasing people’s connection to the natural environment.
Our thanks go to Matt De Jongh from Responsible Wood along with all of the tour guides/presenters for an insightful field trip that provided a deep dive analysis into the sustainable production and provision of timber in Western Australia.
For more information on the responsible sourcing and usage of timber, visit https://www.responsiblewood.org.au/
Avoid the ‘waiting tax’
New data from Aussie Home Loans (Aussie) has explored the impact of what they term the ‘Waiting Tax’, and the benefits of buying now instead of waiting for the ‘perfect time’.
Aussie’s research, released ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate cut yesterday, suggests that any money saved by potential buyers waiting for the perfect interest rate or perfect home price, is inevitably costing first home buyers.
“Many first home buyers – even mum and dad investors – that we speak to become fixated on holding out for the right price or waiting for more cuts, when in reality, the perfect time to buy at any time over the past 25 years was yesterday,” says Alya Manji, broker at Aussie.
Low interest rates are a double-edged sword – providing relief to those already with a mortgage, they also stimulate buying activity. In the current market, low interest rates highlight the struggle to adequately supply homes to meet demand, driving up house prices and offsetting any potential savings for purchasers holding out for a rate cut.
According to modelling by Aussie anyone delaying a home loan until 2026 is likely to spend on average, an additional $77,000 over the life of the loan when compared to taking out a loan today. In Western Australia, the ‘Waiting Tax’ is more pronounced – increasing to $164,000.
Annual Golf Classic success!
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Joondalup Resort for our 2025 Annual Golf Classic last Friday. Greeted by picture perfect weather, over 200 participants took to the green competing for glory.
Congratulations to the team from Oakfield Strata, taking out the overall competition with a score of 57.812 closely followed by Team Qube and Team Wolfdene on scores of 57.938 and 58.5 respectively – a fantastic effort!
We’d like to acknowledge the efforts of the NAGA recipients from Team Skyfields by Perth Airport, and to congratulate the winners of the novelty competitions!
– Longreach Recruitment’s Longest Drive: Alex Caldwell
– Rendezvous Hotel’s Nearest to Pin: Jarrod Rendell
– Opticomm’s Longest Drive with a difference: Jeremy Cordina
– Oakfield’s Nearest to Pin: Matthew Elliot
– RAC WA’s Nearest to Pin: Rebecca McGinn
– Skyfields by Perth Airport’s Nearest to Pin: Okie Driadikarta
We’d like to extend a massive thank you to all our sponsors that helped make this event possible!
Major Sponsor – Landscape Australia Construction
Drinks Cart Sponsors – Fibrenet, Winning Commercial, and Wormall Civil
Halfway BBQ Sponsor Landscape Australia Construction
Hole Sponsors – Clover Pipelines, Landscape Australia Construction, Longreach Recruitment, Mirvac, Oakfield Strata, Opticomm, Origin Energy, RAC Finance, Rendezvous Hotel, Richard Noble & Company, Skyfields by Perth Airport and Winning Commercial
Golf ball sponsor LandNow!
Relive the action: https://www.udiawa.com.au/gallery/udia-wa-2025-annual-golf-classic/