UDIA In Action
What a week! Following an incredible Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner last Friday, the UDIA WA team has moved straight into delivering our Annual State Conference which officially kicked off yesterday.
We were delighted to see so many industry colleagues and friends at the Gala Dinner on Friday night, which finally went ahead following the COVID-enforced postponements. The night was a huge success and provided the ideal opportunity to celebrate the best and brightest in our industry once again.
Congratulations to all winners and finalists and a big thanks goes to all those who nominated this year. Eligible winners will now be entered into the 2021 UDIA National Awards for Excellence, where WA has a great track record of taking out the national gongs and nominations will soon be open for the UDIA WA 2021 Awards for Excellence program, which we will share details of soon.
Our annual State Conference, once again taking place in Bunker Bay, officially started yesterday with a Welcome to Country from Shaun Nannup. Today’s program featured presentations from global economist Jonathan Pain and CCI WA’s Aaron Morey setting the economic scene, Hon. Peter Tinley, John Carey MLA and Tjorn Sibma MLC offering their final key messages for industry in the lead up to the imminent state election and planning experts debating the impact of COVID on future design and community development.
We look forward to providing more detail about conference discussions on our blog in the coming weeks.
Focus on local amenities wins top honours
The prestigious Russel Perry Award for Urban Development Excellence was awarded to Stockland for its Amberton Beach Coastal Precinct at the UDIA WA 2020 Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner.
The judges stated that Stockland has delivered a jewel in the crown of the northern coastal strip, going to great lengths to deliver a community infrastructure project that will be popular with residents and visitors alike and provides access to a beautiful section of WA’s pristine coastline.
The $5 million Amberton Beach Coastal Precinct incorporates high-quality amenity including the Amberton Beach Bar & Kitchen, the multi-functional Lighthouse Park and seamlessly integrates public spaces, community amenity, gathering places and leisure infrastructure.
This year two judges’ awards were handed out with Cedar Woods’ Hamptons Edge at Mariners Cove picking up one, following a finalist placing in the Excellence in Marketing award and The Precinct by Norup + Wilson was awarded the other judges award, following finalist placings in the Environmental Excellence and High Density categories.
For more information, read our media release here which includes a full list of winners and finalists.
Our thanks go to 2020 Award for Excellence Platinum Sponsor Western Australian Planning Commission, Gold Sponsors Lavan and Stantec and Category Sponsors Taylor Burrell Barnett, NBN, James Hardie, WinConnect, formerly CarbonEMT, DevelopmentWA, Western Power, JDSi, Strategen JBS&G and Longreach Recruitment.
Tamara Smith picks up Women in Leadership Award
The 2020 Women in Leadership Award was presented to Tamara Smith as a result of her authentic leadership approach as CEO and Director of 360 Environmental, a business that she has grown with her team over 15 years.
The judges said Tamara demonstrates a drive for improving diversity and gender equity at all levels of industry and provides her team with genuine opportunities to improve work-life balance with a range of programs including health and wellness.
Tamara is a strong advocate for a decarbonized future and has developed a Climate in action group aimed at promoting and sharing action in climate change in local organisations.
The Judges Commendation this year was awarded to Natalie Busch from Hassell.
In awarding Natalie, the judges said Natalie has a passion for creating sustainable, healthy places for the next generation. In her role as a Principal at Hassel, Natalie has not only led a range of complex projects, she also provides strong leadership and advocates for a diverse and flexible workplace.
Natalie has a focus on empowering others, dedicated to providing opportunities for growth and allowing her team to reach their full potential.
In her role as WA President of National Women in Construction, Natalie advocates for how a diverse employee mix will create better places to live.
Fenualla O’Brien named as Young Development Professional
The 2020 Stockland Young Development Professional award was presented to Fenualla O’Brien, Development Manager at Parcel Property and current Outlook Committee Chair.
Fenualla manages a range of development projects from smaller infill through to larger greenfield projects. In conjunction with work commitments, Fenualla is close to completing a Commerce Degree in Property and Marketing.
Fenualla has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to UDIA including assisting in critical research to inform the Institute’s advocacy work and as the current Chair of the UDIA WA Outlook Committee. She is committed to the engagement of young professionals within the property development sector.
Our thanks go to Stockland for once again sponsoring the Young Development Professional Award.
SDAU/SDRP PROCESS CHANGES
An update on various matters relating to Significant Development Assessment Unit (SDAU) and design review integration was released this week.
As part of this the WAPC Chairman, the Government Architect and the Chief Planning Advisor are currently re-assessing the design review process for all projects in the SDAU Part 17 pathway to improve efficiency and ensure design review occurs at the optimal time in the assessment process.
In order to obtain timely and relevant design advice from the State Design Review Panel (SDRP) in respect of a proposed development, SDAU projects will not be presented for (further) design review until the project team for the proponent has demonstrated to the SDAU that the proposal will satisfy the key assessment considerations under Part 17. Proponents must clarify how the project has had regard for:
- the purpose and intent of the local planning scheme, and
- orderly and proper planning, and the preservation of amenity of the locality, and
- how the project responds to the economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and
- any relevant State planning policies and any other relevant policies of the Commission.
This will ensure that any significant design amendments made as a result of clarification and resolution of key issues, can occur before the project is presented to the SDRP.
Additionally, as part of an evolving process for P17 reviews, the ‘traffic lights’ mechanism in reports will no longer be used for P17 reviews specifically. The Government Architect and SDRP support sdrp@dplh.wa.gov.au welcome your feedback on this approach.
For more information on the SDAU, click here and for more information on the SDRP, click here.
When to apply NCC 2019 Amendment 1
The National Construction Code (NCC) 2019 Amendment 1 was adopted on 1 July 2020 with certain transitional provisions in relation to Volume One and Two of the NCC (the Building Code). These transitional provisions end on 30 April 2021.
This means that a building permit application lodged on or after 1 May 2021 needs to demonstrate compliance with the NCC 2019 Amendment 1 until such time that a future edition of the NCC comes into effect.
It is recommended that NCC 2019 Amendment 1 is used for current and upcoming design proposals, particularly where there may be a chance that the building permit application cannot be made prior to 1 May 2021.
The following table summarises when the various editions of the Building Code can be used for building permits relating to new buildings and new building work to existing buildings.
New speaker added to breakfast line up
This week UDIA WA were delighted to announce Sue Pember, Founder & Owner of AussieOS and Mi Casa Property Boutique has been added to our list of speakers at our upcoming industry breakfast.
The event on Wednesday 10 March will be our first Industry Breakfast for 2021 and will look into the question of whether we are seeing the perfect storm for an investment boom in the residential market in WA given the rental vacancy rate remains at sub 1%, the impending end of the rental moratorium and unprecedented new home building construction activity.
Sue joins fellow panelists including President of REIWA Damien Collins, Professor Steven Rowley and Nathan Blackburne.
Registrations close next week so make sure to book your place before it is too late. For more information, click here.
Our thanks go to event sponsor Satterley for supporting this event.
Regional areas performing strongly in 2020
According to new research figures from CoreLogic housing values across regional Australia (+7.9%) increased by more than four times the growth rate recorded across the combined capital city regions (+1.7%) over the twelve months to January 2021.
Most of the reporting on regional areas around the country has focussed on the main population centres outside of the capital cities. These include high profile coastal regions such as Byron and Noosa, or semi-rural markets like the wine regions and hinterland locations close to the major metro regions. This is understandable, given their large populations and popularity. Most of these regions have shown substantial rises in house values over the past year.
However, many of Australia’s in-land rural markets are also showing strong housing market conditions. These areas generally do not provide commuting options back to major working nodes, nor the broad-based lifestyle appeal of coastal markets or hinterland locations. But they do provide a variety of other benefits such as low housing prices, low population densities and a rural lifestyle that may appeal to many.
To read the report in full, click here.
Infrastructure Priority List launch 2021
Tomorrow, Friday 26 February is the launch of Infrastructure Australia’s 2021 Infrastructure Priority List – a comprehensive investment roadmap to support Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019-20 bushfires and the recent and ongoing drought.
This free and interactive online event allows you to discover the key infrastructure investment needs of our cities, regions and remote communities.
The launch event includes the following:
- Hear from Infrastructure Australia’s CEO, Romilly Madew, and Chief of Infrastructure Prioritisation, Robin Jackson.
- Welcome message from The Hon Michael McCormack MP, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development.
- The launch will be interactive, so please feel free to submit your questions to our speakers throughout the event.
- The list will be launched live on Friday, February 26th at 11 AM (AEDT).
- Discover which projects and initiatives feature on this year’s list.
- Find out which areas of infrastructure need focused investment.
- And learn more about how Infrastructure Australia works with Australia’s governments, infrastructure delivery agencies and other infrastructure bodies to support the efficient and timely delivery of infrastructure projects.
For more information and to register, click here.
Site Security Update
This month’s site security update from PACT showcases the importance of reporting all building and construction industry crime as GPS tracking of building site assets has resulted in the recovery of two stolen Hot Water Units. An adult male, previously charged with theft of hot water units, has again been charged with 2 counts of stealing.
Additionally, the forensic examinations of building sites in Lynwood and Beldon have resulted in the arrest of two persons for burglary.
Ensure you report all building and construction industry crime to assist in the reduction of crime. More information here.