Resources
If you need resources and guides tailored for sustainability, resilience in apartments, units, and townhouses, this page is your new best friend.
These resources have been collected with Victorian audiences in mind but they are collected from across Australia. Despite the different owners corporation legislation in each state and territory, there’s lots we can learn from each other.
Brunswick low-rise Electrification success story
At the 2024 High Life Expo, an apartment owner at 76 Edward St, Brunswick met Trent Jones, Director of All Electric Homes. Working with the owners corporation, they delivered an impressive electrification transformation that considered the whole building as a system.
Watch: Getting Off Gas: Rentals and apartments
As residents and government get aboard the electrification train, there are more and more Australians who don’t live in stand-alone owner-occupier housing who are interested in finding out how they too can make the switch to all-electric living.
Watch: The Penguin Factor in apartments
According to Alex Zeller, the Assistant Director, Australian Energy Regulator “Compared to free standing houses, apartments stay warmer in winter by huddling together like penguins. For a number of reasons, this huddling can risk making apartments airless and damp. Due to regulatory quirks, it also means that Australian apartments have lower thermal performance than comparable international counterparts.”
Watch: Understanding heat pumps for strata
Hear from Aurecon heat pump experts, plus speakers from three different sized apartment blocks across Sydney who have electrified their centralised hot water and pool heating systems.
Watch: Affordable and Sustainable Strata Living
In this video you’ll hear from Norman Koslowski, a principal consultant at Sky High Energy Control, an independent sustainable energy consultancy for Sydney apartments and houses. He is an expert on specifying the best mix of solar and energy saving technology to reduce the cost of strata living, plus make apartments resilient to extreme climate conditions.
Watch: A Sustainable Building Officer’s DIY Renovation of His Melbourne Apartment
Never Too Small - a media company dedicated to small footprint design and living - has made some brilliant short films about Shaun’s renovation. Shaun’s $20,000 complete renovation is inspiring and includes lots of clever tips about how you can save your hard earned cash, use more sustainable materials, and improve the thermal comfort of your apartment.
Watch: Life Between Apartments & what it means for resilience
Life Between Apartments is an output from Merrick Morley’s PhD. It’s a much watch for anyone interested in community building, resilience and living well in apartment buildings.
Watch: The E-transport is here: How should your building prepare?
The session aimed to provide insights and strategies to help strata schemes proactively prepare for the increasing demand for EV charging, ensuring a smoother, safer transition towards a future with more eMobility devices, including ebikes and escooters. This recording was made as part of a free online webinar by LookUp Strata (April 2025).
Watch: Efficient electric apartments and townhouses success stories
Looking to improve energy efficiency or electrify your apartment or townhouse, and not sure where to start?
In this recorded webinar, you’ll hear successes, challenges and insights from local residents who improved energy efficiency, installed solar and switched to electric appliances in apartments and townhouses.
Governance and project management in Victorian OCs
The Handbook was developed to help Local Governments understand and support apartment building communities but it’s a great read if you’re keen to understand how your owners corporation works or if you’re trying to complete a project with your owners corporation. It covers things like decision-making and the owners corporation act in plain language.
Unlocking Sustainable Strata: Typology infographics
If you’re looking for a place to start, we recommend the Unlocking Sustainable Strata infographics. The infographics provide an overview of what’s possible in different types of buildings: Townhouses, Low-rise apartments, Medium-rise apartments, High-rise apartments.
efficiency & electrification: renters, budget-conscious, & DIYers
Whether you’re a renter or have budget limitations, you still deserve an efficient, comfortable home.
These detailed slides share expert advice about making your apartment more thermally comfortable, efficient, and electric within the bounds of your rental agreement or available budget.
Watch: EV infrastructure in apartment buildings
Selecting an optimal EV charging solution can be complex amidst the myriad of technology and suppliers. Our panel of experts will offer invaluable insights and case studies for both shared and private charging in apartment buildings. This video was produced as part of the High Life Expo 2024.
Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria
The Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (DSCV) is part of the Victorian Department of Government Services, and provides free dispute resolution services to all Victorians. Their services include mediation, a free, voluntary and confidential process where parties try to resolve their issues with the help of a trained, impartial mediator.
Watch: Getting to Yes!
Navigating and making good decisions with your owners corporation can be one of the biggest challenges of apartment living. So how can we do it better?
In this session, you’ll get an overview of the legislated decision-making process, as demanded by the Victorian Owners Corporation Act.
NABERS for Apartment Buildings tool
NABERS ratings for apartment buildings quantify your building’s energy and water performance.
NABERS gives your building a rating from one to six stars, based on the energy use of shared services such as car parks, lobbies and gyms.
Haines St Greening & Electrification
The dedicated owners corporation committee in this apartment complex do more than just maintain their building, they actively enhance it and connect their community. After a hugely successful landscaping project, they started investigating opportunities to electrify, but ran into a series of major barriers.
Shaun’s DIY apartment reno
When Shaun bought the top floor apartment of a 1980s low-rise block in 2022, it was dated, and unbearably hot on summer days. Shaun put his DIY skills and sustainability expertise to work renovating and retrofitting what is now a beautiful, comfortable, and sustainable home.
All-electric apartment retrofit
Located in the former Red Tulip building, this one-bedroom apartment was thoughtfully renovated to become an all-electric, small footprint, adaptable, and much-loved home to Natalie, Tim and their adorable dog, Bella.
McKean St EV charging Solution
Over two years ago the McKean St owners corporation began investigating the best model to install Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers in an affordable and equitable way. They came up with a neat and automated solution where the EV drivers are billed, without impacting residents who don’t use the EV charging.