Building Upgrade Finance scheme potential included in LG Act Review

The Local Government Act 1995 Review phase two discussion papers have been released for public comment, and we are delighted to see that Building Upgrade Finance (BUF) schemes have been identified as a potential new initiative for inclusion. BUF allows a local government to administer loans issued by financiers to non-residential building owners to upgrade their buildings. The local government uses a levy on the building owner to recover the funds on behalf of the financier, and the loan is tied to the property rather than property owner. Inclusion of BUF in the Local Government Act has been part of the Property Council’s key advocacy platform since before the last election, and we have worked closely with the Department of Local Government and the City of Perth particularly to achieve it. We thank the State Government for being open to the opportunities it presents.

BUF will not only stimulate investment and jobs in those local government areas where building owners take up the opportunity, but also deliver important environmental outcomes for individual properties. We see a huge opportunity for activating and improving built outcomes and tenant offerings in Perth CBD and wherever older buildings would benefit from targeted heritage or environmental enhancements.

We will be providing more information on the opportunities presented by BUF at an upcoming free member seminar, so keep an eye on our events page for the details when they are released. We hope that with strong support during public consultation these provisions will form part of the final redrafted LG Act.

For more information on the broader Local Government Act 1995 Review outcomes visit the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries website. The proposed reforms are split across a series of discussion papers and fact sheets so are easy to access and understand. We will be providing detail on other aspects of the review in future communications.

View the Local Government Act Review 1995 Phase Two Discussion Paper