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It’s official! The Seniors Housing Design Guide is out, so what’s changed since the initial draft?

On 14 December 2023, amendments to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (Housing SEPP) were made to introduce changes to the accessibility and useability standards for independent living units, making way for the new Seniors Housing Design Guide 2023 (2023 Guide).

According to the Department of Planning and Environment (Department), the 2023 Guide, which was placed on public exhibition earlier in 2023, replaces the previous Seniors Living: Urban Design Guidelines for Infill Development, originally published by the Department in March 2004 (2004 Guide). As the title suggests, the 2004 Guide provided design guidelines for in-fill development only. The 2023 Guide extends its reach beyond in-fill development; aimed at enhancing seniors housing development in NSW by building on the Housing SEPP’s objectives.

New Design Requirements for Seniors Housing Development

Part 5 of the Housing SEPP outlines key development standards for seniors housing and those with disabilities, with specific site requirements.

Section 97, as amended in the Housing SEPP, introduces the new 2023 Guide. Under this provision, in determining a development application for seniors housing, consent authorities must consider the 2023 Guide and be satisfied that the design demonstrates “adequate consideration” with the Seniors Housing Design Principles outlined in Schedule 8 (Seniors Housing Design Principles). These principles cover aspects like neighbouring amenity, streetscape, privacy, solar access, climate design, stormwater management, crime prevention, accessibility and waste management.

After receiving feedback from operators, Governments and Councils during the public exhibition of the draft 2023 Guide, several changes were incorporated into the final version. Noteworthy, but not exhaustive, additions include:

• a “Designing for Country” chapter, aligning the 2023 Guide with the Department’s Connecting With Country Framework, which is aimed to better recognise Indigenous culture in the planning, design and delivery of seniors living housing projects.
• a stronger focus on heritage significance and conservation through the insertion of Chapter 5. A series of design guidance provisions that focus on the adaptive reuse design for heritage significant sites have been included.
• new checklists in Part 4, addressing concerns that certain guidelines like the Apartment Design Guide (ADG) conflict with seniors living housing. The 2023 Guide introduces Chapter 18.0 and Chapter 19.0 which outlines how the design criteria of the 2023 Guide aligns with the design criteria of the ADG, the NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation Design Standard and the Liveable Housing Australia Guidelines.

You can access the Seniors Housing Design Guide 2023 here and the Seniors Living: Urban Design Guidelines for Infill Development 2004 here.

We’re here to help

If you have any questions about navigating the Housing SEPP and the Seniors Housing Design Guide 2023 or need assistance with planning related matters, please feel free to reach out to our Planning and Environment team at Macpherson Kelley.

The information contained in this article is general in nature and cannot be relied on as legal advice nor does it create an engagement. Please contact one of our lawyers listed above for advice about your specific situation.