Policy Framework for Water Sensitive Urban Design in 5 Australian Cities

Despite good progress in policy reform to improve the long-term security and sustainability of urban water supplies, Australia still lacks a suite of best practice planning policy objectives, key performance indicators, and standards that can be applied at different planning scales, contexts, and jurisdictions.

CRCWSC Project B5.1 has sought to fill this gap by considering the extent to which current statutory planning frameworks have adopted water sensitive urban design (WSUD), and whether those frameworks are sufficient to maximise the uptake of WSUD opportunities in Australia’s cities.

As Project B5.1’s final report, Policy Framework for Water Sensitive Urban Design in 5 Australian Cities synthesises key observations from previous work and consultation with, for example, developers, local councils, agencies, consultants, and water utilities on WSUD implementation issues and planning reform priorities. It compares the policy regimes across five cities, and makes a range of planning reform recommendations for each state and for consideration nationally.