Accommodation Diversity Code Amendment and Practice Guideline 4

The Accommodation Diversity Code Amendment (Code Amendment) came into effect on 4 December 2025.

The Code Amendment is supported by a new Practice Guideline pursuant to section 43 of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (PDI Act), being ‘Practice Guideline 4 – Communal Recreation Spaces and Shared Facilities’ (Practice Guideline).

The Practice Guideline provides guidance as to how the new policies introduced by the Code Amendment with respect to student accommodation and “co-living” are to be satisfied.

The Practice Guideline is available to read here.

Code Amendment

The Code Amendment introduces numerous consequential changes to the Planning and Design Code (Code), in particular, the concept of “co-living” as a new defined term within the Land Use Definitions table under Part 7 of the Code.

Co-living is defined as follows:

Means a building used for residential accommodation that:

1. contains 6 or more residences that do not include either a full kitchen (provision for a sink, fixed oven, food preparation area and full-sized fridge) for its exclusive use or a full bathroom (provision for a bath or shower, toilet, and a wash basin) for its exclusive use;

   and

2. includes common facilities for shared use including at a minimum:
   1. shared cooking facilities where a full kitchen is not provided in residences;
   2. shared bathroom facilities where a full bathroom is not provided in residences;
   3. common rooms and/or recreation areas.

Importantly, the terms ancillary accommodation; co-located housing; dwelling; student accommodation; and supported accommodation are all excluded from the definition of co-living.

Co-living is now applied as an envisaged use with associated assessment pathways in various zones under the Code, in particular (non-exhaustively): the City Living Zone; the General Neighbourhood Zone; the Housing Diversity Neighbourhood Zone; the Master Planned Neighbourhood Zone; the Neighbourhood Zone; the Suburban Neighbourhood Zone; and the Township Neighbourhood Zone.

New assessment policies specific to co-living are also included within the ‘Design in Urban Areas General Development Policies’ under Part 4 of the Code.

Practice Guideline

Pursuant to section 43(3) of the PDI Act, if a relevant authority acts in accordance with a practice guideline, it will be taken to be acting consistently with the relevant provision(s) of the Code. 

In the case of the new Practice Guideline, clause 6 contains the relevant ‘Policy Guidance’ in respect of particular Performance Outcomes introduced by the Code Amendment.  This policy guidance is set out in table form in respect of provisions relating to ‘Communal Indoor Recreation Space’ and ‘Shared Kitchen, Bathroom and Laundry Facilities’.

An example of the type of policy guidance provided by the Practice Guideline follows:

Communal Indoor Recreation Space

At least 1 communal indoor recreation space adequately sized to cater for 40% of all co-living or student accommodation = occupants and 15% of self-contained occupants at one time. 

If accessible only by stairs, communal indoor recreation space should be no more than 1 floor from the co-living or student accommodation occupants it services. 

If accessible by lift, communal indoor recreation space should be no more than 4 floors from the co-living or student accommodation occupants it services. 

At least one communal indoor recreation space should be adjacent to communal outdoor space. 

Communal indoor recreation space should be co-located with communal dining space and shared kitchen(s). 

At least one communal indoor recreation space should receive a minimum 3 hours direct solar access to its windows on 21 June. 

Note: the anticipated number of occupants is taken to equate to one occupant per bedroom for relevant co-living residences, and one occupant per bed for student accommodation.

Whilst much of the policy guidance is prescriptive (e.g. ‘[a]t least one communal indoor recreation space should receive a minimum 3 hours direct solar access to its windows on 21 June’), there is material that will likely be difficult to ascertain and control from a planning assessment perspective (e.g. ‘[a]dequate provision of kitchen sink(s) to cater for the number of occupants that the kitchen space is servicing, even in instances where dedicated dishwasher appliances are provided’).

Relevant authorities and councils should therefore treat applications for “co-living” arrangements carefully and seek advice in the event of ambiguity as to whether the relevant performance outcomes under the Code are likely to be met.

For more specific information on any of the material contained in this article please contact Gavin Leydon on +61 8 8210 1225 or gleydon@normans.com.au or Nicholas Munday on +61 8 8217 1381 or nmunday@normans.com.au.