2025 WA STATE ELECTION
2025 WA STATE ELECTION
Building resilience for the benefit of all Western Australians
The Western Australian Chapter of the Institute is alerting all political parties in the coming election to the challenges and how they can be met, which we articulate in our 2025 WA Election Priorities statement.
LONG-TERM THINKING AT THE FOREFRONT
Members of the Institute’s WA Chapter in Western Australia together employ thousands of people in WA’s building and construction sector, working to deliver over a billion dollars’ worth of public and private sector projects each year.
The contribution of WA architects is incredibly diverse – from CBD high rises through to multi and single residential projects, community infrastructure, state of the art schools and much more spanning the breadth of our state.
As a critical part of the construction sector, the WA Chapter of the Institute is dedicated to improving our built environment and our diverse communities across the state by promoting quality, responsible, resilient design and advocating for the benefit of all Western Australians.
a message from the wa chapter president
On your behalf, the WA Chapter of the Institute engages with the State Government and various departments to advocate for and support policies to promote livable communities, whether through enhancing public transport options; driving planning and lands reform; and more broadly having a critical conversation with Western Australians about density, livability, and the holistic benefits of quality design.
With the WA State Election set for March 2025, together with WA Executive Director Jonathan Speer, I have been meeting with relevant State Government Ministers, as well as members of the opposition and cross bench, to convey the priorities of the Institute’s WA Chapter.
These priorities, gleaned from you – via WA Chapter Council, Committee and Taskforce members, various Workshop discussions and other conversations with many of you over my past three years as President of the WA Chapter.
– Sandy Angie RAIA
Built Environment State Election Breakfast
The Institute, Planning Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects are hosting a pre-election breakfast on 18 February in the lead up to the March elections.
Our panel discussion will be facilitated by Sandy Anghie RAIA, in discussion with:
- John Carey MLA (Labor)
- Neil Thomson MLC (Liberal)
- Dr Brad Pettitt MLC (Greens)
Connect with influential professionals from across the built environment sector and hear from the major parties about their proposed strategies for planning, housing and liveable cities and what each of the built environment Institutes are calling for.
OUR PRIORITIES FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
1. Access to more affordable homes for Western Australians
- Procure demonstration homes, together with an awareness campaign, to showcase the economic and lifestyle benefits of cleverly designed smaller homes.
2. Reduce the cost of living through more energy efficient homes
- Move to 7-star energy efficiency and condensation provisions from 1 May 2025
- Establish a State Government delivery agency to work with the construction sector to increase capability and capacity for delivering more energy-efficient homes to facilitate the move beyond 7 stars
- Procure demonstration homes, together with an awareness campaign, to showcase the economic and lifestyle benefits of more energy efficient homes, 7 stars and beyond
- Adopt mandatory disclosure of energy efficiency ratings of properties for sale or rent to enable consumers to make an informed choice.
3. Address the housing crisis with connected communites
- Promote the opportunities afforded by the Medium Density Code
- Continue to support build to rent.
4. Build quality apartments through sector reform
- Support State Government’s “Building Better reform package” to enhance building design documentation and procurement
- Mandate that architects are required to prepare plans and specifications for specific types of building work of a certain scale and complexity, including all apartments of three or more storeys.
5. Build skills for the future by expanding access to the Construction Training Fund
- Amend the legislation to include a definition of the construction industry in the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Act 1990 to permit architects, design professionals, and other relevant off-site workers to be included in this definition – equipping our State for the future.
- Include this initiative in the State Government’s “Building Better reform package” to enhance building design and construction.
6. Support the State Government’s Urban Greening Strategy
- Implement the proposed Urban Greening Strategy
- Help build community understanding of the benefits – social, environmental and economic – of the State’s urban canopy
- Support Local Governments in establishing tree planting/urban forest strategies
- Continue to support urban canopy through the Residential Design Codes.
7. Support the State Government’s sectoral emissions reduction strategy
- Support, through WAPC, collection of data from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) at the Development Application stage at Local Governments
- State Government as model client to showcase sustainability initiatives, including LCA assessment for all State Government projects
- Establish a government procurement principle of adaptive re-use as the default option for re-developing state-owned assets with a ‘show-cause’ principle for full-demolition and new building
- Extend LCA assessment to infrastructure projects including roads.
8. Support the state government as Model Client
- As one of the largest principals in WA, state government to take a leadership role in supporting a more sustainable building industry by setting the standard in assessing design tenders across multiple criteria, providing true value for money in the long term.
9. Support Good Design and Design Review
- Continue to recognize the importance of performance-based design principles, allowing flexibility for designers and developers to provide innovative solutions to design challenges, addressing the complexities of individual sites and context.
- Continue to support Design Review as an essential component of development approvals.
10. Recognise the crucial role of the Western Australian Government Architect
- Continue to recognise the whole-of-government leadership role of the Government Architect in WA
- Support the Government Architect in providing strategic, independent and expert design advice to Government and industry about architecture, landscape architecture and urban design
- Promote awareness of how good design contributes to successful urban environments for public benefit.
OUR PRIORITIES FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Access to more affordable homes for Western Australians
- Procure demonstration homes, together with an awareness campaign, to showcase the
economic and lifestyle benefits of cleverly designed smaller homes.
Reduce the cost of living through more energy efficient homes
- Move to 7-star energy efficiency and condensation provisions from 1 May 2025
- Establish a State Government delivery agency to work with the construction sector to increase capability and capacity for delivering more energy-efficient homes to facilitate the move beyond 7 stars
- Procure demonstration homes, together with an awareness campaign, to showcase the economic and lifestyle benefits of more energy efficient homes, 7 stars and beyond
- Adopt mandatory disclosure of energy efficiency ratings of properties for sale or rent to enable consumers to make an informed choice.
Address the housing crisis with connected communites
- Promote the opportunities afforded by the Medium Density Code
- Continue to support build to rent.
Build quality apartments through sector reform
- Support State Government’s “Building Better reform package” to enhance building design documentation and procurement
- Mandate that architects are required to prepare plans and specifications for specific types of building work of a certain scale and complexity, including all apartments of three or more storeys.
Build skills for the future by expanding access to the Construction Training Fund
- Amend the legislation to include a definition of the construction industry in the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund and Levy Collection Act 1990 to permit architects, design professionals, and other relevant off-site workers to be included in this definition – equipping our State for the future.
- Include this initiative in the State Government’s “Building Better reform package” to enhance building design and construction.
Support the State Government’s Urban Greening Strategy
- Implement the proposed Urban Greening Strategy
- Help build community understanding of the benefits – social, environmental and economic – of the State’s urban canopy
- Support Local Governments in establishing tree planting/urban forest strategies
- Continue to support urban canopy through the Residential Design Codes.
Support the State Government’s sectoral emissions reduction strategy
- Support, through WAPC, collection of data from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) at the Development Application stage at Local Governments
- State Government as model client to showcase sustainability initiatives, including LCA assessment for all State Government projects
- Establish a government procurement principle of adaptive re-use as the default option for re-developing state-owned assets with a ‘show-cause’ principle for full-demolition and new building
- Extend LCA assessment to infrastructure projects including roads.
Support the state government as Model Client
- As one of the largest principals in WA, state government to take a leadership role in supporting a more sustainable building industry by setting the standard in assessing design tenders across multiple criteria, providing true value for money in the long term.
Support Good Design and Design Review
- Continue to recognize the importance of performance-based design principles, allowing flexibility for designers and developers to provide innovative solutions to design challenges, addressing the complexities of individual sites and context.
- Continue to support Design Review as an essential component of development approvals.
Recognise the crucial role of the Western Australian Government Architect
- Continue to recognise the whole-of-government leadership role of the Government Architect in WA
- Support the Government Architect in providing strategic, independent and expert design advice to Government and industry about architecture, landscape architecture and urban design
- Promote awareness of how good design contributes to successful urban environments for public benefit.
NEXT STEPS FOR ADVOCACY ...
- WA Chapter President Sandy Anghie and Executive Director Jonathan Speer have met with government, opposition and cross bench MPs and provided them with priorities
- Members are encouraged to also connect with local candidates and share these priorities with them – the WA chapter can provide you with communication resources to assist you
- Following the election, we will continue to engage with relevant ministers of the next government to bolster these priorities and become engaged with the opportunities we are proposing.
