UDIA Victoria has been representing your business and industry throughout 2018 in a range of ways:

• 120 Ministerial and government meetings
• 50+ pieces of mainstream media coverage featuring UDIA Victoria as the voice of the industry
• 6740 industry stakeholders learning and networking at our 42 events, in addition to 630 delegates gathered at the 2018 UDIA congress hosted in Melbourne in March
• 47 new member companies
• 161 committee members across 12 Member Committees, all working hard to deliver on the 2018-2019 Advocacy Agenda
• Formal launch of the  UDIA Mentoring Program

 

Advocacy, Research and Policy Reform

UDIA Victoria is an influential voice for the industry both publicly and privately. In a Victorian State Election year, housing affordability, population growth, investment certainty, planning efficiency, infrastructure provision and activating the tax system have been key areas demanding government and industry attention.

Our strong portfolio of research and market updates informs the advocacy to government and provides industry with the information you need to grow and manage your business.
Through consistent engagement with government, media industry stakeholders, and the broader community, UDIA Victoria collaborates and presents evidence-based advice, solutions and submissions to policy makers, in line with our 2018-19 UDIA Victoria Advocacy Agenda.

Advocacy wins achieved in 2018:

• Bolstered the case against parliamentary revocations of Planning Scheme Amendments with a widely distributed industry policy position and media release that were both read aloud and referred to repeatedly in Parliamentary debate.
• Made the case to increase the powers and influence of the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA), leading the Minister for Planning to issue a new direction that gives VPA policy positions and views greater authority at VCAT and Panels in relation to Amendments the VPA has been directed to provide advice about.
• Commissioned by DELWP as a provider of training to State and Local Government with a focus on property development economics for affordable housing.  The Victorian Government’s initiative to encourage the voluntary provision of affordable housing from the private sector is supported by the UDIA and is an opportunity for developers and authorities to work in unison to deliver a solution to the provision of affordable housing.
• Strategically steered Government’s Smart Planning program as a key member of the Smart Planning Advisory Group, influencing meaningful progress in reforming the Victorian Planning Provisions that has positively impacted over half of all permit applications.
• Secured clarification of garden area requirements for residential zones.  UDIA will continue to advocate for common-sense changes to these requirements to facilitate opportunities to deliver housing supply in Melbourne’s middle ring suburbs.

• Worked with the State Revenue Office (SRO) and Land Use Victoria (LUV) to develop and test a new system for electronic issuing of G2 Notices to address delays in the issue of GAIC certificates.

• Advocacy by UDIA National to ensure developers will continue to claim tax deductions on vacant land held by developers.
• Advocated for a fast-tracked VCAT dispute resolution process for post-PSP disputes.
• Highlighted the need for certainty in planning controls which was a focus of our submissions to the Planning Scheme Amendment processes for the central city and Fishermans Bend. Successfully advocated for a separate authority to take responsibility for the strategic planning and governance of Fishermans Bend.
• Represented industry at the regular PEXA symposiums, successfully pushing for security improvements and system efficiencies.
• Worked with the Minister for Water Victorian Desalination and the  Project of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to reach an agreement about risk management processes where contractors require a Permit to Work within the Victorian Desalination Project (VDP) easement to connect essential infrastructure.
• Led the charge for better governance, transparency and spending of the money the residential development industry contributes to building new communities:
  • Consistently advocated for greater transparency and better spending of monetary industry contributions such as the Growth Area Infrastructure Charge (GAIC). In 2018, UDIA Victoria has represented industry on the GAIC-Works In Kind working group and has been working to streamline the process to reduce the barriers for direct provision of essential State infrastructure by industry, for the benefit of the broader community.
  • Advocated to Treasury and the VPA surrounding key pressure points in large-scale electricity connection services.  Achieved the establishment of a review by the Essential Services Commission (ESC).  Positive reports have been received of shortened timeframes and clear signs of improvement.  Even more improvement with electricity connections is anticipated in 2019.
  • UDIA input to the 2018 ESC water price review helped to keep a lid on price increases for water and sewer connections and infrastructure schemes.

 
Click here to access UDIA Victoria submissions
 

Ongoing member representation

 
We continue to represent the residential development industry to the government and opposition, providing evidenced-based advocacy to inform policy development. Key areas of member representation include:

• Represented the industry’s interests in the development of ICPs for Regional Areas and Strategic Development Areas, and the Implementation Review Working Group for metropolitan greenfield ICPs.
• Boosted the Streamlining for Growth program and played an active role in representing the industry on a number of key reforms, including the Generally in Accordance, Model Planning Permit Conditions, Benchmark Infrastructure Costs for ICPs, and ICP greenfield land valuation methodology.
• Engaged in productive discussions with both the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) and VicRoads on the topic of land reserved in the greenfields under a Public Acquisition Overlay (PAO). Actively engaged with members on the issue of delays in development due to PAO reserved land, and with the Greenfield Development Committee at the helm of solving this issue an outcome is expected in early 2019.

 
UDIA Victoria’s reach is enhanced by the 161 members across  12 UDIA Committees who volunteer their time to drive key issues.  We thank them for contributing skills and expertise to advance the industry, and encourage all members to proactively raise issues and respond to our calls for input – your feedback shapes the positions we put to government.
As 2018 draws to a close and the newly re-elected Victorian State Government ramps up policy initiatives, we look forward to continued advocacy success for our industry and members in 2019.