Full public consultation expected for apartment design rules

The Victorian Planning Minister’s office has provided a strong indication that leaked apartment design rules, based on SEPP65 in NSW, will undergo a full public consultation before decisions are made.

A design code framework similar to SEPP 65 in NSW was leaked from the Office of the State Government Architect and came under scrutiny from the RDC.

There has been a national  push for apartment design rules, which the Property Council opposes on the basis that SEPP 65 (and similar schemes) hinder innovative building practices and make it more expensive to purchase new homes.

The original intent of SEPP65 was to improve apartment design and amenity.

SEPP 65 has become an onerous policy that is not up to date with emerging and innovate building practices and is overly complicated in its application through design controls.

It is generally applied beyond a ‘rule of thumb’ at the local level which has resulted in convoluted and onerous design requirements for developers.