Industry Issues

Industry issues pulls together some of the most interesting and important stories and issues happening in the strata industry over the past few months.

Property and Housing

Affordable Housing

Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis, where lack of access to affordable housing options is having a significant impact on both the lives of everyday Australians, and the economy as a whole.

A recent study by public policy consultants SGS Economics and Planning shows that lack of access to affordable housing is set to cost Australia $25 billion a year.

The Labor Government has announced that they will deliver another 2022-2023 budget in late October, revising the previous budget in March to reflect the commitments made by Labor throughout the election process. In this budget, we will expect to see the Labor Government introduce their ‘$10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund,’ aimed at creating affordable housing properties and thousands of jobs, including allocating $1.6 billion for long term housing. Labor has also announced their Help to Buy scheme, cutting the cost of buying a home ‘by up to 40 per cent’ for 10,000 Australians a year over a 4-year period.

Strata provides a more affordable solution to housing than standalone homes, and the growth of the sector shows more and more Australians are transitioning to experience the multitude of benefits that strata living has to offer.

SCA is working hard to advocate to government the positive effects of investing in infrastructure and processes that make strata even more attractive, and helping to incorporate policy that encourages and facilitates a shift to affordable housing in strata.

Short-term accommodation

Australia is currently experiencing what many are calling a short-term rental accommodation crisis. In an effort to maximise profitability, property owners across Australia are opting to transition what have traditionally been long-term rental properties, into short-term rental accommodation, taking advantage of prolific booking platforms like Airbnb and Stayz.

As a result, we are seeing an oversupply of short-term rental accommodation in jurisdictions all over the country, and an undersupply of long-term rental options. This drives up both the demand and price of remaining properties in the market, and limits accessibility as many people compete for the same properties.

This issue is particularly prevalent outside the major cities, where long term residents in areas like popular tourist destinations and regional hubs are unable to access reliable and affordable accommodation.

There are several approaches that can be utilised to combat this issue. Local councils can take control, by limiting the provision of short stay permits, instituting zoning for shortterm accommodation areas or increasing rates. In the case of strata, SCA continues to be supportive of OCs and BCs maintaining the autonomy to introduce by-laws that require short-term accommodation options within their scheme to be approved by way of vote.

Sustainability

Electric Vehicles

As demand for electric vehicles continues to rise, so too does the discourse surrounding achieving widescale facilitation of electric vehicle charging capabilities in strata schemes across Australia.

Recently, the NSW Government announced the allocation of $10M towards co-funding medium and large apartment buildings with more than 100 car parking spaces to make electric vehicle (EV) charging upgrades.

SCA is hopeful that this development can be a stepping stone to exemplify the significant financial, environmental and social impacts that investing into sustainable measures in strata can have, especially when extrapolated on a national scale.

Apartment Sustainability Ratings

The introduction of the Strata Hub in NSW will now allow NABERS ratings on residential apartment buildings to be recorded and accessible on a platform for the first time. Stakeholders across Australia are starting to take more and more notice of this development, and investigating how to ensure that the uptake of systems like NABERS continues to grow and flourish in their own jurisdictions.

We know that ratings systems like NABERS are directly linked to driving strong financial savings and a significantly reduced environmental footprint for strata residents.

SCA, along with the strata industry as a whole, are keen to explore options that would continue to increase the accessibility, notoriety and overall prevalence of sustainability ratings in the built environment.

SCA envisions a future where every person living in, or seeking to purchase into, a residential apartment building will have access to the building’s sustainability rating and information, including on real estate searching websites like Domain or RealEstate.com.

Insurance

Reinsurance Pool Data

Last month saw the Northern Australia Reinsurance Pool modelling data released by the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) for the first time, following continued calls and pressure from SCA and other key industry stakeholders to encourage the release.

The release confirms as SCA and other industry bodies suspected, in that the figures released of insurance premiums savings of up to 58 per cent were misleading. The real reduction will be closer to an average of 15 per cent.

The release of the data allows for a more common-sense approach to ensuring that the pool is delivered successfully, and that residents are effectively allocated the relief they desperately need.