A Victorian parliamentary Inquiry into renewable and affordable energy for apartments has handed down 25 recommendations. Environment Victoria says implementing the recommendations in full would finally let apartment residents share in the savings and benefits of the energy transition.
Dr Kat Lucas-Healey, Environment Victoria’s Senior Climate and Energy Adviser, said many of the recommendations are exactly what apartment dwellers have been calling for to make the cost-of-living and environmental benefits of the switch to clean energy accessible to all Victorians.
“This report provides vindication to the many apartment dwellers we’ve been speaking with in cities across Victoria, many of whom have tried to reduce energy bills for everyone in their building and found it much harder than it should be.”
“Victoria’s owners corporation laws are outdated and falling behind, and these recommendations – if implemented – will help bring about a substantial program of improvement.”
“For too long, policymakers have seen apartments as a subset of detached housing and an afterthought. It’s great to see the penny drop – the inquiry committee has recognised the need for a dedicated strategy to get upgrades moving and make apartments more comfortable and cheaper to run.”
The Inquiries most significant recommendations include:
Developing an apartment electrification strategy to address the technical challenges of decommissioning shared gas appliances in strata buildings of varying designs, ages and resident diversity.
Lowering of the decision-making threshold for sustainability upgrades to 50% and expand and clarify the definition of ‘sustainability item’ so that it encompasses all current and potential future means to minimise environmental harm and conserve natural resources, and require owners corporations to consider sustainability (including electrification) regularly through a standing agenda item at annual general meetings and through maintenance planning and budgeting
The Victorian Government should appoint a strata commissioner based on the New South Wales and Queensland models and guided by an advisory committee of industry stakeholders; and develop an online strata hub encompassing:
That the Victorian Government extend the Solar for Apartments Program beyond April 2027 with expanded eligibility criteria and program settings that target larger and more complex apartment buildings and incorporate battery storage systems into the Solar for Apartments Program to maximise the effectiveness of rooftop solar.
That the Victorian Government monitor the efficacy of the Embedded Networks Review reforms to ensure all apartment residents living in embedded networks have equitable access to renewable and affordable energy.
The Victorian Government should assist the social housing sector to improve the sustainability of its apartments and other multi‑unit dwellings through thermal and energy efficiency improvements, electrification and particularly residential solar and batteries.
The Victorian Government should work with the apartment sector and local governments to develop means‑tested financial support tailored to enable the electrification of apartment buildings of all ages and typologies; and require distribution network service providers to implement a standardised approach for providing network information to owners corporations, including free preliminary capacity assessments for electrification within 20 business days.
“Apartments are forever homes for many Victorians these days. It’s essential that apartment dwellers have an achievable pathway to get off expensive gas and switch to efficient, affordable and clean energy,” said Dr Lucas-Healey.
Case studies of apartment dwellers who have faced challenges upgrading to affordable and renewable energy are available on request.
MEDIA CONTACT:
James Norman, Media and Content Manager – 0451291775
j.norman@environmentvictoria.org.au