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Design Advisory Service

Better Apartments

The Design Advisory Service (DAS) for apartments offers expert advice to councils, developers and design teams at the pre-application stage of the planning permit process.

What is the Design Advisory Service?

The DAS is a voluntary service to assist developers and councils to interpret and apply the new apartment design standards in more complex urban settings.

The DAS may be used by councils and developers that may not have in-house expertise and experience in complex development projects of varying scales. Some councils have an established design review process and the DAS may be used to complement these existing approaches.

The DAS complements and integrates with existing council planning permit application processes at the pre-application stage. The DAS is not a substitute for a pre-application meeting with the Responsible Authority. Rather, it has a complementary role in early consideration of different site specific responses that address the intent of the apartment design standards.

The DAS advice is independent and offers constructive feedback to the developer and design team, however is not statutory. The session and advice will assist in making an informed decision by council officers. The DAS session will encourage innovation, assist in improving design quality and clarify next steps for design resolution.

Benefits of the DAS

The DAS will:

  1. Assist councils and developers who do not have in-house architectural expertise or an urban designer by providing independent design advice at the strategic design phase of the project.
  2. Assist developers and councils to interpret and apply the apartment design standards in more complex urban settings such as locations where the scale of development, or the nature of the site (for example, gateway locations, large prominent sites, or heritage considerations) may require consideration of a number of strategic issues.
  3. Encourage more consistent design quality across development projects.
  4. Deliver a level of assurance over the design outcome through consistency between the outcomes of the DAS session and the planning assessment stage.
  5. Assist applicants in preparing an application and councils with assessment.
  6. Enhance the range of information that is considered at a pre-application meeting and therefore provide an additional perspective to the pre-application advice.
  7. Improve design quality and site integration.

Operation of the Design Advisory Service

Depending on the nature of the development proposal, a DAS session may run between 1.5 to 2 hours. The council provides administrative support for the session and documentation of the independent design-oriented feedback from the panel member(s). This advice will assist later detailed design work and the submission of an application to council.

Depending on the demand for sessions, and to improve efficiency, council may hold several DAS sessions on the same day in order to optimise access

How to access the Design Advisory Service

A DAS session may be requested by either the applicant or the council with a session member selected from the pool of experts available on the DELWP Better Apartments website.

Design Advisory Service Session Members

The DAS utilises expert knowledge from a panel of qualified design professionals including architects, building designers, urban designers and planners who have a breadth of architectural and apartment design knowledge and experience. Session members will be appointed for an initial period of one year after which the DAS will be reviewed. Each DAS session may involve one or more panel members, depending on the nature of the development proposal and development industry expertise.

Outcome of a DAS session

The DAS aims to provide councils and developers with expert and independent advice that reflects the objectives of the apartment design standards. As stated, the DAS does not have a statutory weight and will not duplicate existing planning processes.

Feedback offered during a DAS session is advisory only and may be used to support the design process and the later assessment of the planning application.

DAS Fees

The fees for the DAS are set at a panel rate similar to the rates consistent with the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines 2016. Council will be responsible for the payment of the panel rate and provision of venue and logistics for the DAS session.

Review of the Design Advisory Service

The DAS and the design guidelines will be reviewed in 12 months following consideration of the outcomes of case studies as development outcomes become available.

Key lessons from the review will inform the future form and direction of the service. Based on levels of interest there may be potential for the service to continue with one or more industry stakeholders taking a lead role. The review will identify how the DAS has contributed to industry knowledge and capability in the application of the new apartments design standards.

Further information

For further information please contact the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning via email

© The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2017

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Disclaimer

This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.

Accessibility

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