Proposed changes to WA's R-Codes: what has been announced
In early July, the WA Government announced a proposed overhaul of the Residential Design Codes - the R-Codes - that would allow tens of thousands more Perth properties to be subdivided. Public consultation is expected later this year, with implementation flagged for July 2027. This is a straightforward summary of what has been proposed, for owners and prospective owners who want to understand the detail without wading through the coverage.
The R-Codes are the state-wide planning rules that govern how residential land in Western Australia can be developed. They set the density of housing permitted on a block, the minimum lot sizes for subdivision, building heights, parking requirements, and much else besides. Every residential property in Perth carries an R-Code - R20, R40, R60 and so on - and that code, together with the size of the block, determines what can and cannot be built.
Because the R-Codes touch almost every property decision in Perth, changes to them are worth understanding on their own terms, rather than through headlines. What follows sets out what has actually been proposed, and what has not.
What is being proposed
The central change concerns the minimum block size required to subdivide land coded R20 or below - the low-density classification that applies to a large share of Perth's suburban residential blocks. Under the current rules, subdividing an R20 block into two dwellings generally requires a minimum lot of around 900 square metres (calculated as two dwellings at the average site area of 450sqm each). Under the proposed changes, that threshold would drop to 700 square metres.
According to the Housing Minister, this alone would enable approximately 50,000 additional residential properties across Perth to be subdivided that cannot be under the current rules. The government has described it as the biggest change to the R-Codes in three decades.
Alongside the subdivision threshold change, the proposals include several other measures aimed at streamlining residential planning:
- Reduced planning approvals for simple residential projects - single houses, renovations, patios and carports - which the government has flagged would no longer require formal planning approval in many cases.
- Faster approval times for single dwellings, with the target being to halve the current average from around 60 days to 30 days.
- Removal of minimum parking requirements for apartments and granny flats.
- Increased density allowance in R40 zones, permitting three storeys where two are currently allowed.
- A review of building heights in medium- and high-density areas.
The context: Perth's infill targets
The proposed reforms sit within a broader planning framework that targets 3.5 million people living across the Perth and Peel regions by 2050, with 47 per cent of new housing to come from urban infill - that is, development within existing suburbs - rather than greenfield expansion at the city's edges.
On the government's own figures, Perth is currently running below that target. The infill rate rose from 34 per cent in 2023 to 39 per cent in 2024, but remains short of the 47 per cent figure. The R-Codes changes have been positioned by the government as one of the levers to close that gap.
Which properties are most affected
The change to the subdivision threshold would have the greatest practical effect on blocks currently coded R20 or below that sit between 700 and 899 square metres - a size range that includes a significant number of suburban blocks, particularly in Perth's northern and southern corridors and in older established suburbs. The government has specifically identified low-density suburbs including Joondalup as being among the most affected.
Properties already large enough to subdivide under the current rules, or already coded for higher density, are not the focus of this particular change. Nor are the proposals uniform: the R-Code that applies to any given block, and whether a subdivision is feasible in practice, depends on a range of local factors including services, access, existing buildings, and the local planning scheme - none of which the R-Codes changes alter directly.
Timeline and process
The proposals are, at this stage, exactly that - proposals. The published sequence is:
- Later in 2026 - the proposed changes are released for formal public consultation.
- July 2027 - implementation is expected, subject to the outcome of consultation and any subsequent revisions.
Between now and implementation, the detail may change. Public consultation on planning reforms of this scale routinely produces refinements, and both supportive and critical submissions can shape the final form of the rules.
How the changes have been received
The response across industry, planning, and political voices has been mixed - broadly supportive from housing and property sector bodies, welcomed but qualified from planning academics, and critical from some environmental and political quarters.
The Property Council of WA, the Planning Institute of Australia and the Housing Industry Association have publicly backed the changes as a step toward addressing housing supply. Academic voices, including Curtin University's Professor Peter Newman, have supported the direction but argued the reforms do not go far enough on density and urban regeneration. The WA Greens have criticised the proposals on the grounds that they would produce lower-quality infill and reduce tree canopy in established suburbs. The state opposition has welcomed the changes but questioned the timing.
We note these positions for completeness rather than to endorse any of them. Reasonable people can and do hold different views on the trade-offs involved in denser suburbs, and this article is not the place to arbitrate that debate.
What this may mean for owners - and what it does not
For owners of blocks that fall within the affected range, the proposed changes could, in time, alter the development potential of the land. That may be of interest to anyone considering their long-term plans for a property, or evaluating a purchase. For most owners of smaller blocks, or of properties already at their permitted density, the practical effect will be limited.
A few points worth holding onto:
- The R-Code that applies to a specific property can be checked through the relevant local government's planning maps, or through the WA Planning Commission's resources. This has not changed.
- Subdivision potential is technical and property-specific. Even where the headline threshold is met, whether a particular block can actually be subdivided depends on shape, access, services, existing structures and setback requirements.
- The proposed changes do not, on their own, rezone any property. They alter the rules that apply to properties already carrying particular R-Codes.
- Nothing changes until legislation and regulation is finalised. The July 2027 implementation date is a signal of intent, not a settled position.
If you would like to understand how the proposals might interact with a specific property, formal advice from a qualified town planner is the right starting point.
A note on sources
This summary reflects the WA Government's announcement of 2 July 2026 as reported by the ABC and other outlets, together with publicly available information on the current Residential Design Codes and Perth and Peel infill targets. It is general information only and is not planning, legal, or financial advice. The proposals described remain subject to public consultation and to final drafting before their expected implementation in July 2027. For advice specific to a property or planning matter, please consult a qualified town planner, your local government, or the WA Planning Commission.
