Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.

Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;

David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;

“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;

Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;

At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.

Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.

Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.

David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.

“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;

Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;

Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;

However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.

Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;

Joel Robinson

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.

The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.

Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.

“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.

“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" />

Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.

The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.

“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.

“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" />

Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.

“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.

The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.

“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”

The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.

The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

Education

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/63938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Six Australian universities made the top 100 best global research institutions in the 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), released today – two more than the previous year.
Monash University and the University of Sydney were the two newcomers to the top 100 club, joining Melbourne, Queensland, Western Australia and Australian National University.
More than half of Australia’s public universities now feature in the world’s best 500 research institutions.
This year marks a change in the methodology to the ARWU rankings, which is based purely on a university’s research performance.
“The ARWU is noted for the stability of its methodology, which means that normally, unless an institution won a Nobel Prize or recruited a large number of Highly Cited Researchers, large movements did not occur,“ said Natalie Mast, associate director for performance analytics at the University of Western Australia.
“The main driver of movement this year has been a change in the methodology used to determine highly cited research criteria,” she said.
“Previously, ARWU utilised both the old and the new highly cited researcher lists, and this is the first year that only the new list was used.”
The old list included anyone who had been named a highly cited researcher up to 2011, and included publications going back to 1981. The new list, which was developed in 2014, is updated annually, and focuses on publications from the last decade.
Mast said: “This has allowed Chinese universities – Tsinghua and Peking – to break into the top 100 for the first time."
Within the ARWU rankings, 50% of the total score of an institution is determined by a small number of individuals, made up of Nobel Prize winners (staff and alumni) and highly cited researchers.
Mast noted: “The ARWU has traditionally favoured established universities, as Nobel Prizes awarded to alumni and staff, which can provide a value for up to 100 years, have a significant impact. By changing the highly cited research criterion, newer universities have an greater opportunity to rise in the ranking.”
“There had been agitation from ARWU and universities, which urged Thomson Reuters to clean the list. It was advantageous to older researchers because they had a longer body of work. Now it allows high-performing mid-career researchers to be classified as highly cited,” said Mast.
The rankings point to some interesting global trends. While older universities in Europe and the US seem to be falling in these rankings, those universities in Spain, China, South Korea and Australia are on the rise.
She added that, through increased investment, Chinese universities were likely to continue to improve in these rankings.
Mast noted that the rankings needed to be viewed in perspective. “The score assigned to an institution in the ARWU is a percentage of the top-ranked institution, which has always been Harvard. This year, the university ranked 100. The University of Utah, attained a score of 25.4.”
According to Tony Shiel, deputy director of the office for research at Griffith University, these results show that you get a consistently good university education in Australia.
“The rankings show that Australia has a good top end, and middle end, meaning that quality runs deeply across the sector,” said Shiel.
Western Sydney University and RMIT made the top 500 list for the first time – both have recently invested in research.
QUT, which now features in the top 300, wasn’t even in top 500 two years ago.
“There are a few making quick rise,” said Shiel. “Whether that continues or not will be interesting to see.”
“Research is important as it enhances the brand, which then in turn attracts international students,” said Shiel.
These rankings place Australia in a good position in a fast moving part of the world, he added.
“It positions us well to have better collaborations with Asian partners, especially in China, as we will be taken more seriously,” he said.
Howerver, Shield said these results were just another indicator and we should not place blind trust in these outcomes, no matter how positive.
Harvard, Standford and UC Berkeley universities gained the top three spots for being the best in the world at research.
While the US had 50 universities in the top 100, the UK featured the second highest with eight universities.
Claire Shaw is education editor, The Conversation and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/team#claire-shaw" target="_blank">here</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Six Australian universities make the global top 100 list

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Set to open in 2018, the construction for Victoria's first vertical school has begun with the Premier, Minister for Education James Merlino and local member Martin Foley turning the first sod of soil and launching a new state government authority that will oversee building of new, and upgrade of existing local schools and early childhood centres.

Designed by <a href="http://www.hayball.com.au/projects/south-melbourne-primary-school/">Hayball</a>, the P-6 South Melbourne Primary School, located on Ferrars Street, will have five levels with open space on each level according to a Victorian Government media release.

<blockquote>
On a compact inner urban site of 5000m2, it will be located in the Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal Area which is expected to grow to 80,000 residents over the next 40 years.

Involving the development of a new model for school and community, a key innovation is the unprecedented integration of shared school and community facilities. As well as a government primary school for 525 students, the project includes an early learning centre, administration, multi-purpose community rooms, a recreation hub (indoor netball courts) and associated amenities.
<cite><a href="http://www.hayball.com.au/projects/south-melbourne-primary-school/">Hayball's description</a> of the new South Melbourne Primary School</cite>
</blockquote>

To read more about the project, see the new <a href="http://www.schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au/Pages/Schools/South-MelbourneFerrars-St.aspx">Victorian School Building authority's website</a>.

Select an image below to view the larger renders of the new school, originally posted on the Premier's Facebook feed.
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Alastair Taylor

Victoria's first vertical school to rise in South Melbourne

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/62964/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
A university education is a highly valued commodity in Asia. Australia has benefited from this in terms of the economic advantages international education has brought.
In 2015, there were 272,095 higher education international students in Australia who contributed almost A$12.5 billion to the economy. The vast majority were from Asia.
They also supported thousands of jobs and businesses across the property, hospitality and retail sectors in cities and regions.
However, developments in the higher education sector in a number of Asian countries may threaten Australia’s billion-dollar education industry.
<h2>Who are the rising Asian players?</h2>
The US and UK dominate the international education market in Asia, hosting 19% and 10% of the global share of international students.
More recently, however, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia have become more attractive destinations for Asian and non-Asian students, including those from the Middle East.
The attraction is due to a variety of factors, such as scholarships, job opportunities in the region, cultural and geographical advantages, and governments investing in higher education.
In 2013 these countries combined hosted 7% of the global share of international students, edging out Australia, which has 6% of the market share.
Many are looking to reform and improve their higher education sectors. Some have plans to almost double their international student intakes over the next four years. China is seeking to grow numbers by 500,000, Japan by 300,000 and Malaysia by 200,000 by 2020.
While Australia also aims to almost double its intake to close to a million by 2025, the Asian countries' targets may well prove formidable competition.
Malaysia and Singapore are attractive because of the availability of local jobs after graduation. Regardless of where they are from, international students on Singapore government-funded tuition grants are contractually obligated to work for locally based companies in the republic for three years. The aim of the scheme is to meet labour shortages and harness the skills of the graduate workforce.
In Australia, however, international students have few scholarship opportunities, and no local jobs specifically waiting for them after graduation.
Having an Australian qualification does not necessarily mean an international student will be employed in Australia. Here any foreigner – which is how international students are regarded once they finish their studies – must possess the skills Australia needs and/or undergo a skills assessment by the relevant Australian authority before they will be granted permission to work.
The movement of international students from developing nations to developed nations is no longer the norm within the region.
In South Korea, for instance, students are studying in Indonesian universities with the prospect of gaining employment with South Korean-based companies in Indonesia.
<h2>Moving up the global rankings</h2>
Asian universities are also punching their way up university rankings.
In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2015-2016, Asian universities outperformed Australian universities in the top 100 list.
Nine Asian universities in comparison to six Australian universities made the top 100.
The top Asian university, the National University of Singapore (NUS), ranked 26th, above Australia’s best performer, the University of Melbourne, which is 33rd.
And while there are more universities in Asia than in Australia, what is significant about such rankings is that key Asian universities are fast becoming globally recognised as premier research and teaching institutions. They are overtaking Australian institutions in the competitive higher education space.
The QS World University Rankings place Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University as the leading institution for universities under the age of 50 years.
Asian universities again dominated, with 16 institutions in the top 50 under 50. Australia had six universities in this category, with 14th-ranked University of Technology Sydney leading the pack.
Together with robust funding support from the government, NUS strategies for simply being the best include high calibre-recruitment, a commitment to innovation and collaborations with overseas partners such as the Singapore-based NUS-Yale College.
Asian education hubs have ambitions not only to maintain their positions but also to increase the number of their institutions at the high end of these rankings.
In 2013, Japan for instance launched its Top Global University Project to place ten or more of its universities in the global top 100. Like Singapore, the Japanese government has been providing generous funding to its premier universities to achieve this goal. The government invests millions of dollars in annual subsidies for its leading research and education institutions.
<h2>How can Australia stay competitive?</h2>
What can traditional players like Australia, the US and the UK do to maintain their competitive edge?
With Asian universities becoming some of the best in the world, it is vital that the traditional markets provide strong research funding support to their universities to build up their research and innovation strengths.
In 2013, according to the OECD, Australia invested 2.112% of its GDP in research and development. This is marginally more than the UK (1.664%), China (2.015%) and Singapore (2%), yet significantly less than Japan (3.482%), Korea (4.149%) and the US (2.742%).
Asian students and their families value quality education. Eventually they will look to universities that have globally recognised quality brands, which would help students with their own professional mobility.
A way for Australia to stay competitive would be through research collaborations and partnerships with Asian institutions.
If traditional and emerging markets are competing for students, it is imperative that strong research and teaching links be formed between universities from both sides of the divide.
One aspect of this discussion policymakers might want to consider is becoming host to satellite campuses from world-renowned universities.
So far only Carnegie Mellon has an offshore campus in Australia.
Having such satellite campuses creates not only diversity and internationalisation in the Australian higher education space, but also provides other benefits. These include more competitive choices of institutions on Australian soil, as well as greater opportunities for students to move between countries on exchange.
Having top Asian universities set up campuses in Australia promotes increased flows of top students and staff. This would help strengthen Australia’s position in the region as a high-quality education hub.
Catherine Gomes is senior lecturer, RMIT University and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/catherine-gomes-12634" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Rising players in higher education: the countries to watch out for

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The world of work has become an increasingly difficult environment for young people. Youth unemployment in Australia is persistently higher than for other age groups.
In response, our governments have delivered one-size-fits-all policies that focus on national targets encouraging education programs to make unemployed young people more “work ready”.
These approaches assume that, with the right education or training, a young person will be able to get a job. However, this is not the case, especially for young people who live in areas of high youth unemployment.
To reduce youth unemployment, education and labour market policies must go beyond a focus on individual young people to offer solutions at a community level.
Rural and regional areas hit hardest
Youth unemployment has been a feature of developed economies since the 1980s. As the Australian economy continues to open to global competitive pressures, the decline in the availability of manufacturing work and the growth of the services sector have changed the nature of work.
However, as recent research has highlighted, youth unemployment rates vary in different places and local communities.
Rural and regional areas are among the hardest hit by these changes. Places such as outback Queensland and the New South Wales Hunter Valley have youth unemployment rates of 28 percent and 22 percent respectively.
These levels of youth unemployment reflect these regions’ reliance on industries that are changing rapidly and may no longer provide reliable local employment.
These powerful shifts are not adequately recognised at a policy level.
Policies targeted at youth currently encourage the development of individual human capital. This takes place through a one-size-fits-all approach focused on increasing levels of educational qualification, with the promise that young people will find professional work.
This kind of future is not available to all young people, no matter how “work ready” they may be, especially for those in areas with high youth unemployment.
Again, these policies ignore the reality of the forms of work available in different local communities.
Does this matter in a world where young people are encouraged to be as mobile as possible in search of work and a fulfilling future?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes, for reasons connected with the role of local communities in shaping young people’s identities and pathways through work.
The critical role of local communities
Australian and international research has shown the critical role that processes of identity construction play both in young people’s engagement with work and in the strategies they use to survive unemployment.
Rural and regional young people are key examples of this process. Research has demonstrated the importance of local community connections for young people’s orientation towards their future in work. This applies even to those whose imagined futures take them beyond the boundaries of their local communities.
In one example from this research, a young man who imagines a future as a teacher described his plans in terms of existing family connections to the profession and the availability of accommodation with family members who lived close to the nearest regional university.
This process, in which young people imagine futures around established community connections and ways of life, is common in regional areas. While schools encourage young people to plan their own individual futures, the lives of relatives and other community members continue to shape their desires and perceptions of what is possible for them.
Community support in tough times
These communities may also be zones of high youth unemployment. Research conducted in former manufacturing centres of the UK with high unemployment shows that local community relationships provide critical support when times are tough. These local networks may also provide access to casual employment.
However, these communities operate as both resources and limits to young people’s biographies. The resources they offer may not provide opportunities beyond their local place, and young people may be personally invested in forms of work that reflect the history of their community. For example, young men may aspire to futures in manufacturing that are no longer locally available.
Similar <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781403939326">results</a> have been found in rural Australia, where established expectations about suitable work may not reflect actually existing opportunities available to local youth.
As a consequence, people must re-evaluate who they are and who they can become. This re-negotiation of personal identity is a key aspect of navigating changing labour markets in areas of high youth unemployment.
A complex policy issue
Youth unemployment is a complex policy issue with no silver-bullet solutions. Simple approaches based on individual employability are destined to fail.
Local communities and young people themselves are grappling with rapid economic change.
To be successful, education and training programs must work with local communities alongside investment in regional economies aimed at creating new employment opportunities when established industries leave.
Only in this way can education and employment policies support young people to navigate regional Australia’s changing labour markets.
David Farrugia is lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-farrugia-243862" target="_blank">here</a>.
 
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Youth unemployment: local communities essential for helping young people find work

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The literacy levels of construction workers are low relative to other industries, and yet prescriptions about how to work safely are often buried inside long and complicated documents.
Our research suggests workers may not even read these documents before they commence work. Also, no matter how complex they are, documents cannot cover all eventualities. There’s a gap between the way work is described in formal health and safety documents and the way it is practised on site.
Visual methods, including video, can overcome some of these difficulties. For a long time videos have been used to communicate health and safety information to workers. But safety training videos are often produced by technical experts or media companies and shown to workers in stand-alone presentations. In such uses, workers are passive audiences to generic video materials.
Construction companies are legally required to consult workers on health and safety issues, but this is often done in a very formal top-down way, rendering it meaningless.
This is a missed opportunity because construction workers possess a wealth of knowledge based on their practical experience, often gained over many years. Research conducted at RMIT University (undertaken in partnership with Melbourne-based firm CodeSafe Solutions) examined the potential for digital and mobile technologies to be used to access, capture and share workers’ health and safety knowledge.
In the research, construction workers were involved in making films about their everyday work practices. Unlike documentary, in which subjects have little or no say in how they are portrayed, participatory video engages people in making films about their everyday experiences.
Construction workers received basic media training before making digital videos about their work practices. The video making enabled workers and managers to understand and reflect on the way work is routinely done and, in doing so, identify constraints and enablers of safe and healthy ways of working. Only when watching the video footage did managers and workers identify problems inherent in standard operating procedures that were either poorly understood or impractical due to physical features of the work environment.
Gaps were identified between the way work was documented and the way that it is routinely practised. Understanding these gaps meant they could be discussed and collaboratively resolved.
In several instances work equipment, processes or procedures were redesigned to improve safety. In some instances tasks that had been undertaken the same way for many years were redesigned to make them safer. Both workers and managers described how watching the video footage gave them a different perspective and enabled them to view and understand work in new ways.
In one example an access platform erection process was redesigned after workers were seen working adjacent to an unprotected edge.
The collaborative redesigning of a long established work task reveals how workers’ tacit knowledge – which is not easily captured or written down - was made explicit and usable through the participatory video activities.
Once made, the digital videos are disseminated at participating worksites using quick response codes, accessible via smartphones. Some workers share these videos with workers outside their organisations, while others show them to builders and principal contractors to explain why they need to work in certain ways to remain safe.
The workers described video as being a powerful way to share “know how” as opposed to “know what.”
Digital and mobile technologies are now an integral part of everyday life. Using a smartphone to capture and share knowledge, experiences and ideas in video format is not only possible, but now second nature to many. The research shows it can also improve construction workers’ health and safety.
Helen Lingard is professor, Construction Occupational Health and Safety, RMIT University and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/helen-lingard-170971" target="_blank">here</a>.
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