Southern Cross Circle
Ocean Reef
We design and build custom homes in Ocean Reef and along Perth's northern coast.
Our projects typically start at $1.5M for the build, excluding land. Ocean Reef is a suburb of R20 blocks on dune sand behind a wide coastal reserve, with a marina precinct under its own scheme. Here is what the City of Joondalup's rules mean for a new house.
Our homes in Ocean Reef
Southern Cross Circle is a Hamptons coastal home on a 483 m2 block in Ocean Reef, completed in November 2021. It sits on an established R20 street, the kind of block almost every Ocean Reef build sits on. The project page shows the finished home; a private tour, by invitation, shows it in its street.
Tours of finished and in-progress homes are by invitation; ask us whether Southern Cross Circle can be visited.
Building in Ocean Reef: what changes
The scheme and the code. Ocean Reef is in the City of Joondalup under Local Planning Scheme No. 3, gazetted on 23 October 2018 and amended to Amendment 21 on 17 April 2026, with no special control areas (clause 36). Public mapping shows R20 as the one residential code, over about 42.1% of the suburb's area; the other 57.9% is uncoded foreshore, Bush Forever land, roads and the marina.
The marina is a different scheme. The marina area at the western end of Hodges Drive sits under the WA Planning Commission's Ocean Reef Marina Improvement Scheme No. 1, gazetted on 30 September 2020, which replaces both the Metropolitan Region Scheme and the City's scheme there. Its design guidelines for the Stage 1 Residential Precinct were published in September 2026, when the State announced the first residential lots would go to market, with more than 1,000 homes planned on the 65 ha site. A marina house is assessed under the Improvement Scheme and its guidelines, not LPS3. Confirm the Improvement Scheme boundary and the residential codes, lot sizes and design rules inside it with the WAPC.
What governs an R20 house. Outside the marina, the City's February 2026 information sheet puts single houses under its Residential Development Local Planning Policy and the R-Codes Volume 1, Parts B and D, plus the Coastal policy and State Planning Policy 3.7 (bushfire) where they apply. The draft Residential Development policy asked for one street tree per 9 m of frontage and limited cut or fill in the front setback to 1 m; the adopted text was not available to us. Confirm the adopted Residential Development LPP with the City of Joondalup. No local storey limit for houses was found; height follows the R-Codes.
Sand, not rock. Ocean Reef's ground is mostly dune sand. State soil mapping puts the Quindalup South system over most of the suburb: shallow sand flat 35.0%, oldest dune 9.6%, third dune 9.5%, second dune 8.4% and unstable sand 4.6%, with Karrakatta shallow soils over 21.9% inland. Limestone outcrops at the Beenyup cutting immediately south of the boat harbour. Deep sand digs and drains easily; the shallow and unstable phases do not, so the site classification still comes first.
The dune reserve and bushfire. A protected dune area, in places about 400 m wide, separates the houses from the ocean, so there are no direct beachfront house lots. The same reserve is why about 30.2% of the suburb's area is mapped Bush Fire Prone on the DFES map of 13 December 2025: the dunes, Bush Forever site 325 (20.9% of the suburb) and their 100 m buffers. A block facing the reserve needs a Bushfire Attack Level assessment, and development approval applies where the rating is BAL-40 or Flame Zone on a lot over 1,100 m2. Check the lot's bushfire designation on the DFES map or with the City of Joondalup.
The coast. Ocean Reef is inside the study area of the City's coastal hazard plan, "In Development" with completion targeted for 2027; the project plan names no Ocean Reef hotspot. Ask the City whether a lot is identified under the Coastal policy.
Heritage. None on a house block. No State Register or Heritage List place falls in Ocean Reef; the 2024 Local Heritage Survey records Tom's Rock on Ocean Reef Road as a Category 4 ("Little") place.
Demolition and knockdown rebuild. The name was adopted in 1974, replacing Beaumaris; Hodges Drive splits the suburb, its two halves developed a few years apart. Demolition is exempt from development approval under Schedule A clause 23 unless the place is heritage protected; a Building Act 2011 demolition permit is still required ($110 for a Class 1 or 10 building in 2025-26). The ABS recorded 11 new house approvals in the Ocean Reef statistical area in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 9 the year before, worth $6.0 million. The statistical area matches the suburb: houses are not replaced often here.
Rules in motion. The City's 2017 strategy flagged Ocean Reef's centre for "potential for additional upper storeys/mixed use development". Rules change. Confirm the current codes for your lot with the City of Joondalup or with us before you buy or design.
Ocean Reef at a glance
| Measure | Figure | As at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New houses approved, 12 months | 11(9 the year before) | September 2025 to August 2026 | ABS Building Approvals |
| Residential density codes | About 42.1%of the suburb area R20, the one residential code mapped | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DPLH via Landgate SLIP |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | About 30.2%of the suburb area, the dune reserve and Bush Forever land with buffers; check the lot | Sampled 31 October 2026 | DFES via Landgate SLIP |
| Separate houses | 91.2%of private dwellings | 2021 Census | ABS |
| Population | 8,125 | 2021 Census | ABS |
Figures are for the suburb or statistical area named. Area shares are grid estimates from public mapping and are not lot designations.
For current median sale prices, see REIWA's Ocean Reef suburb profile.
What a $1.5M+ build looks like in Ocean Reef
Our projects typically start at $1.5M for the build, excluding land. Our cost guide puts a Trendsetter home at $4,000 to $6,000+ per square metre, with builds from $1.5M to $4M and most between $1.5M and $3M. In Ocean Reef the ground is kinder than limestone and the code is R20 everywhere, so more of the budget goes into the house than the hole. A block facing the dune reserve carries a bushfire rating, and BAL-rated glazing, cladding and decks cost more. On a block the size of Southern Cross Circle, 483 m2, the floor area generally goes up rather than out.
How we work
Trendsetter Homes has designed and built custom homes across Perth since 1997. Design, construction and interiors are handled by one team, so the people who draw your home are the people who build it, and the interior designer is in the room from the first brief. Before you commit, we show you real homes: private tours of finished and in-progress client homes, by invitation, with no obligation. Many clients talk to us before they buy a block, and that is a good time to start.
The people you will work with
Design, construction and interiors are one team. These are the people you meet first.
Nearby suburbs we build in
Ocean Reef's neighbours are City of Joondalup suburbs under the same scheme.
Elsewhere on the coast: Karrinyup, Marmion, North Fremantle.
All areas: see every suburb we have written up.
Questions about building in Ocean Reef
Do I need approval to demolish a house in Ocean Reef?
Not development approval. Schedule A clause 23 of the City of Joondalup's Local Planning Scheme No. 3 exempts demolition unless the place is heritage protected, and none in Ocean Reef is. You still need a demolition permit from the City under the Building Act 2011; the fee is $110 for a Class 1 or 10 building in 2025-26.
Is my block bushfire prone?
About 30.2% of Ocean Reef's area is mapped Bush Fire Prone on the 13 December 2025 DFES map: the dune reserve, Bush Forever site 325 and their 100 m buffers. On blocks facing the reserve a BAL assessment sets the construction standard, and development approval applies at BAL-40 or Flame Zone on lots over 1,100 m2.
Is a marina lot built under the same rules as the rest of Ocean Reef?
No. The marina sits under the WA Planning Commission's Ocean Reef Marina Improvement Scheme No. 1, gazetted on 30 September 2020, and houses are assessed against its design guidelines for the Stage 1 Residential Precinct. Ask for the guidelines with the lot.
How high can I build in Ocean Reef?
The City of Joondalup sets no local storey limit for single houses, so height follows the R-Codes for R20, the code on every house block outside the marina. The City's 2017 strategy mentions "additional upper storeys" at the Ocean Reef centre, but that is the centre, not the house lots.
Talk to us
Book a design meeting at our Osborne Park office, or request a private tour of a finished or in-progress home. Office (08) 9446 2822. For tours, call Marek on 0412 688 079. Or use the enquiry form below.
Request a design chat