The government has introduced changes to the Better Apartments Design Standards. The updated standards focus on the external amenity impacts of apartment buildings and aim to create better apartment buildings in our neighbourhoods. As our cities keep growing it’s important that apartments make a positive contribution to our neighbourhoods and are safe and healthy places to call home.

Fact sheets

The changes to the Better Apartment Design Standards are explained in the Better Apartments fact sheets.

Apartment Design Guidelines for Victoria

If you are a design professional, the Apartment Design guidelines for Victoria can assist by providing design guidance and additional explanation of the Better Apartments Design Standards. The Department has recently updated the Apartment Design Guidelines for Victoria to reflect the updates to the standards:

Wind Impacts in Apartment Developments

The Wind Impacts in apartments developments Planning Practice note includes guidance on the planning permit process for when a design needs to meet the wind impacts standard. The Practice Note accompanies the new wind impacts standard:

Policy areas

In 2018, the Victorian Government made an election commitment to improve the external amenity of apartment buildings. To implement this commitment, the Minister for Planning has now introduced changes to the standards through planning scheme amendment VC174.

The Department completed consultation on the new external amenity standards in September 2019.

More than ever, the coronavirus pandemic has shown us that all homes need to have access to air, nature, sunlight and personal space, so the updated design standards will ensure that:

  • apartment buildings provide green open space for residents and add to neighbourhood amenity
  • the standards respond to changing population trends including more families choosing to live in apartments
  • streets and spaces surrounding apartment buildings are not windy and remain safe and pleasant.

The changes to the Better Apartments Design Standards address four policy areas:

Green space

Communal open space should be provided in common areas of buildings of 10 dwellings or more to improve residents’ health and wellbeing and provide urban cooling.

Communal open spaces should be:

  • accessible
  • functional
  • easy to maintain.

The previous standard for communal open space applies to buildings of 40 dwellings or more.

Landscaping should not be an afterthought in building design and planning but incorporated from the beginning of the process. Canopy trees should have enough space so that they thrive.

External materials

Building façades should be of a high quality, incorporating materials that are durable and making a positive contribution to the existing streetscape.

Wind impacts

Publicly accessible outdoor space within an apartment development or on surrounding streets should not have unacceptable wind impacts, as they create unpleasant spaces to walk and congregate.

Integration with the street

Street frontages should avoid blank walls or high fences. Car parking entrances and waste collection areas should not be visible from the street.

Design changes for balconies

OrientationDesign space
North facing balconiesThe depth can be reduced to 1.7 metres while still allowing for a functional space for a table and chairs, on north facing balconies.
South facing balconiesOn south facing apartments, a narrower balcony could be adopted to living areas. Narrower balconies can function as an extension of internal living areas to provide daylight, ventilation and a sense of openness. The depth can be reduced to 1.2 metres, which still allows for a functional space for a table and chairs, on south facing balconies.
East and West facing balconiesEast and west facing apartments can accommodate deeper balconies and no changes are required.

Industry innovation update

We have listened to industry concerns about the amenity problems for balconies on tall apartment buildings and have developed changes to the Better Apartments Design Standards to improve liveability outcomes for residents.

While balconies on the lower levels of a building  help maintain the life and character of our neighbourhood and city streetscapes, there will be flexibility to use innovative design solutions for the towers above.

Balconies on tall buildings can be of limited use to residents because of local noise, wind or a lack of views or sunlight.

The revised private open space standard will introduce more flexibility for how balcony space can be delivered for an apartment above a 40-metre height level (around 13 storeys).

This will allow the minimum private open space area to alternatively be provided as additional space in a living room or bedroom. The extra space given to a living room might provide a place to work from home, space for children’s play, or a concealed laundry and drying space.

Page last updated: 27/04/22