With the state election less than seven weeks away, architects and planners want the next government to lock in the Office of the Victorian Government Architect, and to have it check the homes now being approved under Victoria’s new residential codes.
Victoria has spent the past 19 months rewriting how medium density housing gets a permit. Now the two professions that design and assess most of it are asking who will check whether the results are any good.
The Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects and the Victorian division of the Planning Institute of Australia today jointly called on every party contesting the 28 November election to commit ongoing funding to the Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA).
The planners went a step further. They want the office to audit the design quality of homes approved under the state’s new residential codes.
For builders working on townhouses, dual occupancies and low and mid rise apartments, that second ask is the one to watch.
What are planners and architects asking for?
Both bodies say they back more homes and more housing choice. Their argument is that higher density only keeps community support if it is done well.
Institute Victorian Chapter President Stephanie Bullock said planners and architects want the same thing: more homes people are proud to live in, in places that work. She said the OVGA provides design leadership from early planning through to the finished building, and called on every party and candidate to sustain and strengthen it.
PIA Victoria President Pat Fensham said the focus on good design and climate resilient housing should grow as density increases. He said PIA wants ongoing funding for the office, plus an auditing role over code approvals, so there is evidence the reforms are delivering homes and not just approvals.
The architects’ ask is not new. Sustaining and strengthening the OVGA was the first of eight commitments in the Institute’s election platform, released in September.
What does the Victorian Government Architect actually do?
The OVGA is a small team of architects, landscape architects, urban designers and planners that gives independent design advice to government. It was set up in 2006, marked 20 years this year, and now sits as a division inside the Department of Transport and Planning.
Its main tool is design review. Panels drawn from a pool of industry experts look at significant public and private projects and give written advice before designs are locked in.
An independent evaluation by SGS Economics and Planning, published by the OVGA in June, found that between July 2021 and June 2025 the office completed 876 engagements across 423 projects worth about $130 billion combined. It issued 408 pieces of formal advice, and 90 per cent of surveyed clients said they were satisfied or very satisfied.
Housing is the biggest single slice of its work. The office helped shape the state’s Future Homes apartment program and provides design triage for projects in the government’s Development Facilitation Program.
Why is the funding a live question now?
The SGS report is direct about money. In May 2022 the office’s core ongoing funding was cut by 42 per cent, from $1.3 million to $0.7 million a year.
Since then, much of its housing work has run on fixed term funding tied to the Housing Statement, covering Future Homes, the Great Design Fast Track pathway and the Development Facilitation Program. That money runs from September 2023 to June 2027. Separate funding for design advice on major transport projects also ends in June 2027.
Put simply, a large part of the office’s current housing role is funded only until partway through the next government’s first year. The report says the office still faces budget and staffing constraints, and that keeping its value depends on stable and consistent funding.
It also offers a simple cost test. By its estimate, the OVGA only needs to reduce project risks by 0.05 per cent for its benefits to outweigh its costs.
How have the new codes changed approvals?
This is where the builder relevance sits.
Victoria now has three deemed to comply codes for housing. The Townhouse and Low Rise Code at Clause 55 has covered two or more dwellings up to three storeys since 31 March 2025. The Single Home Code at Clause 54 has applied to single dwellings and small second dwellings needing a permit since 8 September 2025. The Mid Rise Code at Clause 57 has covered four to six storey apartments in set zones since 16 April 2026.
The model is simple. If a proposal meets every applicable standard, council must issue the permit and objectors lose the right to appeal to VCAT. If it misses a standard, normal assessment applies to that part.
For builders and developers that means more certainty and faster decisions. Townhouse and low rise applications rose almost 50 per cent in the code’s first year.
Who checks quality once appeals are gone?
The trade off is that a compliant design is no longer tested case by case. The standards now carry the quality load on their own.
The SGS report makes a related point. It notes that when government limits appeal rights to speed up delivery, it is relying on the community’s social licence, and that licence lasts only while outcomes meet community expectations. Clients told the evaluators that independent design input helped give that assurance.
PIA’s proposal applies the same logic to the codes. An audit would not reopen approved permits. It would look at the design quality of what gets built and show whether standards on setbacks, sunlight, room sizes and tree canopy are producing the homes they promise.
That cuts both ways for builders. Good evidence would strengthen the case for keeping the codes as they are. Poor results could bring tighter standards later. Either way, the feedback would come from finished homes rather than from objections.
What does deemed to comply mean in Victorian planning?
Under Victoria’s residential codes, a deemed to comply standard is a measurable requirement such as a setback, site coverage or minimum room size. If a proposal meets the standard, it is treated as meeting the matching objective and council cannot weigh other policy against it. Where every applicable standard is met, the permit must be issued and objectors have no right of review at VCAT.
How does Victoria compare with NSW?
Victoria is not the only state pairing faster approvals with a government architect. In NSW, the Government Architect endorsed eight low rise designs for the NSW Housing Pattern Book, which can be approved through a 10 day complying development pathway available since 30 July 2025. NSW has since added a pathway for mid rise pattern designs.
The difference is where the design check happens. NSW builds it in up front, inside designs its Government Architect has endorsed. Victoria’s codes set standards and leave the design to each project team, with no formal check on the results once permits issue.
The standards now carry the quality load on their own.
Where does this leave builders?
Nothing changes for permits lodged under the codes in the meantime. The decision on the OVGA’s funding, and on any audit role, sits with whoever forms government after 28 November.
What the joint call does is put an unanswered question on the table: how anyone will know whether faster approvals are producing homes people want to live in. Builders delivering code assessed product have a direct stake in that answer, because community confidence in the codes is what keeps the fast pathway open.
The Good Builder Take
Speed and quality are not opposites, and builders doing good work under the codes have nothing to fear from being measured.
A light audit of what the codes are producing is a modest ask of any incoming government. Evidence from finished homes is a better guide to future rule changes than complaints and headlines.
We will follow what each party commits to before polling day. For more on how planning reform is landing on site, catch up on The Good Builder Podcast.
Frequently asked questions
It is a small team of architects, landscape architects, urban designers and planners that gives independent design advice to the Victorian Government. Established in 2006, it now sits as a division of the Department of Transport and Planning and runs expert design review on significant public and private projects.
The office’s core funding was cut from $1.3 million to $0.7 million a year in 2022. Much of its housing work since then has relied on fixed term funding that runs to June 2027. The two professional bodies want that role secured as an ongoing commitment by the next government.
If a proposal meets every applicable standard in the relevant code, it is treated as meeting the code’s objectives. Council must issue the permit and objectors cannot appeal to VCAT. If a standard is not met, the normal planning assessment applies to that part of the proposal.
Three codes now use it: the Single Home Code at Clause 54, the Townhouse and Low Rise Code at Clause 55 for buildings up to three storeys, and the Mid Rise Code at Clause 57 for four to six storey apartments in certain residential and mixed use zones.
Related articles
- Victoria’s Townhouse Applications Jump 50 Per Cent. Here Is What the Numbers Actually Mean for Builders
- Victoria Fast Tracks Backyard Development in Push for More Townhouses
- Australian Construction Industry Trends Guide
Last updated: 12 October 2026. Funding details from Evaluating the benefits of the OVGA (SGS Economics and Planning, 2025). Code commencement dates from the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning.
General Information Only: This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal, planning or financial advice. Planning requirements vary by site, zone and overlay. Readers should seek independent professional advice about their specific circumstances before making decisions.
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