Sydney, Australia, July 02, 2009 - The green roof industry in Australia is very new when compared to other countries around the world.  There has been a slow take up of roofs being incorporated into new or existing rooftops.  This is due in part to the economic slowdown, with larger developments being shelved or greatly scaled back.  Unfortunately the perception of green roofs is that they are a feature that can be left out of a build.  As with landscaping, they are one of the last features to be installed on a building usually after the development budget has blown out.  Buildings are still able to achieve a six star rating without a green roof being installed.  The following quotes give a good indication as to the sentiment of green roofs in Australia currently.

But most "green buildings" in Australia do not have green roofs - including Lend Lease's The Gauge in Docklands, which recently achieved a 6-star rating through the Green Building Council. Its architect, Darren Kindrachuk, said concept plans had included a green rooftop, "but when it came down to it, we had to balance design with cost benefits - We were getting higher value in terms of water and energy conservation from other technologies," he said, adding that staff had access to a "green space" in the building's broad balcony.
Woods Bagot landscape architect Tim O'Loan wrote in a recent paper that the cost of a green roof in Australia would be "approximately four times that of a simple lightweight roof structure" and that even the simplest "extensive" living roof, which has a shallower surface, would cost about $50 a square metre, not including the supporting concrete slab.

In order for the industry to develop and thrive in Australia a number of things need to happen.  Pilot projects between government bodies, universities and the private sector need to be implemented to allow architects, planners and other decision maker to see the social, economic and environmental benefits of green roofs.  Tax incentives need to be offered to developers to encourage them to include green roofs in their projects and legislation needs to be passed making green roof installations mandatory on certain types of new or existing buildings. 

The proof is out there that green roofs do have a real benefit to the environment, the wallet and society and Australia needs to draw on this proof and aim to become a world leader.  Australia is one of the driest continents in the world and as a result has developed some of the best irrigation technologies that can be applied to create water efficient green roofs.