Australia builds the largest homes per capita in the world. As a passionate proponent of sensible change to Victoria’s current planning permit laws that will support smaller housing options, Sally Wills’ Small Change Design & Construction business is growing within a niche market. It also heads up the small home BIG LIFE Competition for Victorian TAFE students. Sally will be one of the keynote speakers at this year’s Green Living Conference 2016, bringing a very clear message.

Returning from a long sojourn in Western Australia eight years ago, Sally underwent studies at Master Builders Association of Victoria to acquire her domestic builder registration and went on to further study to achieve the Advanced Diploma of Building Design at Melbourne Polytechnic, formerly NMIT.

Sally’s interest and enthusiasm for small and sustainable homes began in the early 1990s with the design and project management of a 1.5-bedroom dwelling in South Melbourne. This project was one of the first inner-city homes to achieve the Five Star design rating well before environmentally sustainable design requirements became mandatory.

While Australians have made positive steps in reducing the operational energy required to heat and cool our dwellings,” Sally says, “we need to build much smaller homes if we are serious about sustainability. We need to build small to reduce emissions, and now we have the added impetus to address the diversity of housing needed to respond to our changing demographics and ageing population.”

Campaigning for the last four years, Sally is hoping to bring change to current planning rules to encourage and support the construction of sustainable small secondary dwellings on existing residential lots to help overcome the housing crisis. She continues to make representations on behalf of community groups to politicians and industry associations to put the case forward for key changes to the forthcoming Plan Melbourne Refresh, Victoria’s current planning strategy, currently under review.

Her lobbying effort has been supported by an online petition, which has already amassed 1500 signatures and comments. Support has also been forthcoming from registered housing providers. They have sent letters of support citing the public housing shortage crisis that could be rapidly and economically addressed with change to Victoria’s current planning rules.

If current rules change in line with other states, it will be possible to build a 60- square-metre home without a planning permit and without the restrictive requirements of a dual occupancy development. It is anticipated this can occur within a $100-150,000 price range, which will incentivise the construction of affordable rental accommodation.

Secondary dwellings will also support an ageing population allowing people to downsize without leaving their community, or losing their access to private gardens.

In comparison with other states, Victoria holds the most restrictions regarding planning permits for secondary dwellings in the backyard of existing houses.

In 2015, Sally’s design and construction of a 56-square-metre one-bedroom home won an industry award and attracted considerable media attention. The house sold quickly after completion for under $250,000 to a young, first home buyer who was delighted with her design. It attracted huge attention for open inspections and on the Internet.

Sally has been involved in the building industry for over thirty years, turning her hand at many positions and roles within construction, both in Victoria and Western Australia.

Recently her business granted licenses to a registered Queensland builder to construct the Small Change range of houses in QLD, NSW and ACT, and she anticipates concluding a similar arrangement in Western Australia in the near future.

With sustainability, affordability and diversity of housing options for our changing demographics and ageing population now advancing as serious issues which need to be addressed simultaneously, Sally believes that building small is a big part of the solution.

“This is the right thing to do,” Sally says. “People will be affected positively.”

Click here to register for the 2016 Green Living Conference.

Read about our other Green Living Conference keynote speaker, Nick Wootton.