The Accommodation Diversity Code Amendment enhances housing diversity and provides more flexibility for building apartment-style homes and retirement living across the state. These changes aim to make it easier to build much needed housing for South Australians.
Key features in the Accommodation Diversity Code Amendment include:
more flexibility in apartment design, by focussing on rules that contribute to a comfortable home, such as minimum bedroom and living area dimensions, rather than minimum total floor area
the option of providing communal amenities like rooftop gardens and barbecue areas in apartment buildings instead of private balconies
introducing a new form of ‘co-living’ accommodation for residences that rely on shared facilities, such as common kitchens or bathrooms
more guidance on how shared rooms and open spaces are designed, including being conveniently located near residences and having good access to sunlight, appropriate seating, lighting and other features
providing better guidance on the provision of communal recreation spaces and shared facilities for student accommodation
allowing increased building height up to 4-6 storeys for large retirement villages and supported living developments to provide more accommodation for our ageing population to continue living in their own communities.
The changes proposed by the Code Amendment apply across the whole of the state.
A new Practice Guideline – Communal Recreation Spaces and Shared Facilities has also been prepared to assist in guiding the provision of communal indoor recreation spaces and shared facilities, such as communal kitchens and bathrooms, which are provided for student accommodation and co-living developments.
Outcomes
The Minister for Planning has decided to divide the code amendment into two separate parts, adopting Part 1 on 15 October 2025.
Part 1 – introduces:
- more flexibility in apartment design
- ‘co-living’ accommodation for residences that rely on shared facilities
- more guidance on how shared rooms and open spaces are designed, as well as better guidance on communal recreation spaces and shared facilities for student accommodation
- the new ‘Significant Retirement Facility and Supported Accommodation Sites Overlay’ to most suburban residential zones allows increased building height up to 4-6 storeys for large retirement villages and supported living developments
Part 2 – will apply the Significant Retirement Facility and Supported Accommodation Sites Overlay over suitable locations in the:
- Hills Neighbourhood Zone
- Established Neighbourhood Zone
- other relevant neighbourhood-type zones where the Historic Area Overlay or Character Area Overlay applies.
A number of changes have been made to the Code Amendment in response to feedback received during consultation, which are outlined in the engagement report.
In addition, the Minister also determined to make the following alteration:
amend the Significant Retirement Facility and Supported Accommodation Sites Overlay and related Administrative Definition so that sites between 6,500 m² and 10,000 m² may accommodate up to 4 storey development, and sites above 10,000 m² may accommodate up to 6 storey development.
Practice Guideline 4 – Communal Recreation Spaces and Shared Facilities has also been adopted. The guideline outlines the features of communal spaces and shared facilities that should be provided to meet the needs of residents in co-living and student accommodation.
Next steps
The Minister will consult further with relevant councils regarding suitable locations to apply the new Significant Retirement Facility and Supported Accommodation Sites Overlay in the Hills Neighbourhood Zone, Established Neighbourhood Zone and other relevant neighbourhood-type zones where the Historic Area Overlay or Character Area Overlay applies.
Part 2 of the Code amendment will be finalised following feedback from these councils, and will apply the new overlay to any suitable locations in these areas.
For more information visit the YourSAy website.
