On Sunday, Planning Minister Richard Wynne announced the release of the new Better Apartment Design Standards which will apply across Victoria.

The standards have been released now to give authorities and the broader industry time to familiarise themselves with the changes before they are formally implemented by a planning scheme amendment later this year. As part of this, the government has also announced that a minimum two-month transitional arrangement will apply to applications lodged before the amendment date.

The most significant changes are:

• Communal Open Space would be required to be provided as a common area of a building of 10 or more dwellings. The starting point is for 30sqm, which increases depending on the number of dwellings proposed. Within the current standards, the communal open space requirement only applies to buildings of 40 or more dwellings.
• Wind impacts on publicly accessible outdoor space will need to be considered for apartment development of five or more storeys. Addressing this standard will require the preparation of a Wind Impact Assessment by a suitably qualified engineer, which may also include wind tunnel modeling for more significant developments.
• Private open space requirements are modified to account for the orientation of a building and to compensate for space taken up by heating or cooling units. For tall buildings (over 40 metres) where balconies are likely to have compromised amenity, the standards provide for additional space to be provided in the form of additional living spaces (such as winter gardens) or bedroom areas.
• A higher bar for building facades and materials is introduced, requiring applications to justify material selection, including providing further analysis of the streetscape context and adjacent buildings.
• Landscaping including canopy tree planting, is required to be incorporated into the design from the outset. The new standards are more explicit in terms of canopy cover and specifications for planting, which is more likely to result in an expectation from Authorities that a resolved landscaping plan is provided from the outset.

Human Habitats commends the government for trying to improve the livability and amenity of apartment buildings. However, these amendments raise several questions:

Regarding communal open spaces:

• Will increased standards for communal open space introduce an affordability dilemma for smaller developments? Given apartment buildings are encouraged in areas that generally have good access to public open space, there are likely to be instances where the additional body corporate fees outweigh the benefits of these spaces.
• What is the community expectation regarding the potential amenity impacts from communal outdoor spaces, particularly on podiums or rooftops? In our experience, these spaces can be particularly contentious for neighbouring residents and Councillors alike and have the potential to generate additional objections and, therefore, objector reviews through VCAT.

Regarding Wind Impacts:

• Are Councils equipped with the appropriate expertise to scrutinise and evaluate technical wind engineering advice? If not, this standard could have significant cost and time implications for planning permit applications.

Human Habitats provides planning consultancy services to a wide range of clients working in the residential apartment space. We would be pleased to discuss these latest updates with you to ensure your next project is ahead of the game.