What is checked

Where the standards come from

QuickBADS checks against the Better Apartment Design Standards: Clause 58 (Apartment developments) of the Victoria Planning Provisions. Clause and standard numbers below (for example Clause 58.05-1, Standard D17) refer to Clause 58. Table numbers (for example Table D4) and the guidance QuickBADS uses for measuring are from the Apartment Design Guidelines for Victoria (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, 2021).

QuickBADS helps you check a design. It doesn’t replace your own assessment against the planning scheme that applies to your site.

Colours

Colour	Meaning
Green	Passes
Orange	Within 2% of the requirement (for example 7.9 m² against 8 m²), or something blocks a pass that needs your judgement. The label always says why.
Red	Fails
Light green path	Circulation route that passes

Every fill has a label with the requirement and what fits, for example MAIN BED ALMOST · min 3.0 × 3.4 · fits 3.15 × 3.37.

Rooms

Check	Standard
Bedrooms	Main bedroom 3.0 × 3.4 m, other bedrooms 3.0 × 3.0 m, measured to the inside wall faces. Clause 58.07-1 (Standard D24, functional layout), Table D7 Bedroom dimensions.
Living area	Minimum width (3.3 m for a studio or 1 bedroom, 3.6 m for 2 or more) and area (10 m² or 12 m²). Clause 58.07-1 (Standard D24), Table D8 Living area dimensions. The fill sits against the facade glazing and spans wall to wall, with the depth needed to reach the area, and at least the minimum living depth in Settings (drawn only, not graded).
Studios	A daylit room holding both the bed and the kitchen is graded as studio living (3.3 m / 10 m², kept clear of the bed and kitchen). The bed gets its own 3.0 × 3.4 zone, graded on size only.
Bathrooms	Adaptable bathroom design option A or B. Clause 58.05-1 (Standard D17, accessibility), Table D4 Bathroom design. Shower screens don’t divide a bathroom.
Balcony	Area and minimum depth by orientation and bedroom count, using the model’s True North. Clause 58.05-3 (Standard D19, private open space), Table D5 Balcony size. With no balcony, the additional internal area is checked instead (Table D6 Additional living area or bedroom area). Balconies are measured inside the handrail. Ground-floor apartments show ? because gardens can’t be checked yet; the ground floor is the level you tick as BADS Ground Floor (see Ground floor).

Storage

Storage volume inside the apartment is checked by bedroom count: Clause 58.05-4 (Standard D20, storage), Table D6 Storage. Volumes follow the Guidelines’ guidance to storage. Storage fills are coloured by type:

Brown: full height
Light blue: under-bench
Dark blue: overhead

Volumes are measured from each cupboard’s real footprint and type height. Kitchen storage is inferred from the benches, less sinks, cooktops and appliances. Change the inferred dimensions in QuickBADS → Settings (see Kitchen storage). The schedule shows how much external storage (e.g. a car-park cage) is still needed to reach the total.

Accessibility (Standards D17 and D18)

These are Clause 58.05-1 (Standard D17, accessibility) and Clause 58.05-2 (Standard D18, building entry and circulation). QuickBADS draws the accessible route from the entry to the main bedroom, and to the bathroom when there’s no ensuite. It checks the width along that route (1.2 m) and the door clear openings. A door’s clear opening is its leaf width minus 50 mm. For cavity sliders, the opening is the number in the type name (e.g. “Slider 850mm”). Set the path widths in Manage → Project Information:

BADS_PathWidthAccessible (default 1200 mm; lower values are ignored)
BADS_PathWidthStandard (default 1000 mm)

Getting started

Using QuickBADS

Where the standards come from

Colours

Rooms

Storage

Accessibility (Standards D17 and D18)

​Where the standards come from

​Colours

​Rooms

​Storage

​Accessibility (Standards D17 and D18)

Where the standards come from

Colours

Rooms

Storage

Accessibility (Standards D17 and D18)