The Business Building Victoria’s road to recovery

Danni Hunter, Victorian CEO, Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA)

The centrepiece of Victoria’s road to economic recovery from COVID-19 depends on radical change that supports home buyers and the building, construction and development industry. Fortunately, the great work done through the Planning and Building Approvals Process Review means Government can feasibly implement systematic changes now, that will help pave the road to recovery for industry and for Victoria.

The building, construction and development industry employs around 300,000 Victorians, generates billions of dollars for the Victorian economy and funds almost half of the State Government’s tax revenue. The industry is an economic power-house that builds and pays for our most important infrastructure including housing, hospitals, schools and transport. Right now, our economic contribution will be helping government to fund some of the amazing commitments being announced to help Victorians deal with COVID-19.

Like most other industries in our economy, our industry will take a big hit. But there are options available to Government that will ensure the sector can continue to employ hundreds of thousands of Victorians, deliver homes and community infrastructure, and help stabilise the Victorian economy. Many of these options have been examined, assessed and recommended by the Commissioner for Better Regulation in her review of Victoria’s Building and Planning Approvals Systems and Early Building Works Infrastructure.

UDIA Victoria worked closely with the Commissioner for Better Regulation and the Review Team during this process to demonstrate the issues with the current system and the benefits that would be gained from improving existing processes. The ensuing Discussion Paper and Proposed Improvements demonstrated a strong understanding of the complexity of the issues plaguing the planning approvals process and put forward a range of improvements that would have an immediate and significant impact on streamlining planning approvals, reducing the overall cost of delivering residential land or dwellings to market, and stimulating the residential development sector.

Specifically, UDIA Victoria has highlighted the following recommendations as critical for the Victorian Government to implement:

• Move to online planning permit processing and tracking;

• Reduce response times for referrals;

• Streamline compliance with permit conditions;

• Reduce timelines for electricity connections; and

• Simplify the infrastructure contributions system across government agencies.

These are the kinds of actions that will make a difference.

They would also allow Victoria to continue delivering on its growth strategy; because when the coronavirus threat subsides, Victorians will still need the homes, services, infrastructure and economic contribution that our industry delivers.

Now is the time to prioritise efficiency and productivity. If the Victorian Government can swiftly and decisively implement the key recommendations from the review of Victoria’s Building and Planning Approvals Systems and Early Building Works Infrastructure, then we will be much better placed to weather the storm upon us.

Hansen Partnership

The team at Hansen Partnership continue to work on a range of exciting planning and design projects.

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