Insights by HIP V. HYPE — The Great Design Fast Track

Victoria's new design-led planning pathway creates exciting opportunities to mainstream sustainable design excellence through streamlined approvals.

The Victorian Government’s newly launched and highly commendable Great Design Fast Track (GDFT) planning pathway aims to accelerate approvals for medium-density housing projects that meet rigorous design, sustainability and liveability standards.

This initiative targets townhouses and apartment buildings of two to eight storeys with eight or more homes, addressing the urgent need for high-quality, affordable housing in a rapidly growing state. By incentivising innovative approaches to sustainability and urban design, the pathway seeks to balance economic growth with environmental and social sustainability.

Key sustainability features of the fast-track approval pathway include the integration of climate-resilient construction methods, elevated NatHERS targets, ventilation requirements,  biodiversity enhancement and adaptable housing models that cater to diverse community needs.

Given that the built environment contributes over 50% of Australia’s carbon emissions and is central to the social and economic health of our cities the GDFT offers a pragmatic mechanism to accelerate climate-positive, socially beneficial development – while reinforcing the importance of enduring, thoughtful design.

By rewarding performance and design leadership, the GDFT can help ensure that new buildings and places actively contribute to lower carbon, healthier and more resilient communities.

HIP V. HYPE sees this as a meaningful opportunity to lift the bar on sustainable design in Victoria. A clear and consistent framework for assessing “great design” – including measurable sustainability performance – can provide the confidence needed to innovate and invest.

For projects seeking to pursue the Great Design Fast Track, HIP V. HYPE brings deep experience in performance-led design, sustainability advisory and development feasibility. We can help you unlock the pathway by embedding climate-positive principles into your project from concept through delivery – ensuring design excellence and sustainability work hand in hand.

With our Projects team having delivered multiple 8-star+ buildings (including ParkLife 2 at 8.5-stars and Ferrars & York at 8.6-stars), our experience suggests that this higher performance standard can be achieved with relatively limited cost uplifts, but only when considered in early-stage design.

Our Better Buildings Team are well placed to partner with clients to develop holistic design strategies that capitalise on the Fast Track pathway while ensuring sustainability is embedded as a core design principle. We are currently assisting with half a dozen projects pursuing the GDFT, and our interdisciplinary approach brings together design thinking and environmental expertise to create projects that excel across all measures of quality.

We look forward to providing further insights soon and would be pleased to provide sustainability advice to successfully navigate the Great Design Fast Track.