Victoria will not impose minimum unit sizes in its new apartment standards, unlike Sydney, which imposed minimum unit sizes of 50sqm for one-bedroom units, and 70sqm for two-bedroom units.

Victoria's draft guidelines will instead require that apartments:

* have ceilings at least 2.7 metres high

* every habitable room must have access to natural light

* there must be good ventilation

* efficient management of energy and waste, and

* noise reduction measures.

The Victorian planning minister held a press conference on the weekend in a one-bedroom Lendlease apartment in Docklands. The apartment, at 48sqm, is smaller than the Sydney requirement for one-bedroom units.

"The opportunity in an apartment like this, at 48 square metres, achieves and in fact exceeds the guidelines that we are putting in place. We will not be mandating minimum sizes because we want to ensure that good design is a part of this solution," said Wynne.

Grocon innovation chief David Waldren, said the proposed guidelines will foster quality design and innovation. "The draft standards do not include onerous or expensive inclusions," he said. 

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