Hon Steve Martin questions the Minister for Lands regarding DevelopmentWA's construction cost formula for social housing, particularly concerning the inclusion of actual cost rises and the gap between government definitions and developer costs. The Minister's response clarifies the applicability of DP9 and acknowledges escalating construction costs.

AnsweredQoN 1019Legislative Council
Asked
10 September 2024
Portfolio
Lands

QuestionView source ↗

DEVELOPMENTWA — CONSTRUCTION COST FORMULA
1019. Hon STEVE MARTIN to the minister representing the
Minister for Lands:
I refer to the practice of including
social housing in developments to be sold to the government or community
providers at construction cost.
(1) Does
DevelopmentWA's formula for construction cost factor in all actual cost
rises, such as labour and materials costs?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
(3) Does the minister accept that there is a significant
gap between the government's definition of construction cost and
the actual cost of construction faced by developers?
(4) Are there any plans to make the
formula for calculation closer to reality?
(5) How many social homes have been
constructed using this model in the past 12 months?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(4) It is assumed that the question relates to the
Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority's development policy 9, which
addresses both affordable and social housing. DP9 applies in select
circumstances in redevelopment areas that fall under the Metropolitan
Redevelopment Authority Act 2011 and it is not applicable across all state
projects. When affordable and social housing contributions are provided on site
in applicable redevelopment areas, development policy 9 requires that 12 per
cent of total dwellings be provided to the Department of Communities or an
approved community housing provider. Due to escalating construction costs, it
is currently agreed between the parties.
(5) One project on a DP9 applied site has been
completed in the last 12 months. At this single site, 37 affordable dwellings
have been delivered.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more