In October 2025 the online STORM tool used for assessing Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) performance for development proposals was retired and replaced with Blue Factor.
STORM has been in use since 2006, to assess stormwater quality impacts of development and provide treatment measures to comply with stormwater quality objectives. STORM is referenced throughout Victoria’s Planning Schemes and is commonly accepted as one of tools to show compliance with local planning policy and with Clause 52.18 Stormwater Development in Urban Development of the Victorian Planning Provisions.
Practitioners should be aware that STORM is no longer available for new projects, although can be used for existing applications or amendments to approved developments where the tool has already been used.
Blue Factor is an online tool with similar objectives, which also produces a score to measure whether proposed stormwater treatment methods can achieve a minimum score of 100 in relation to both water quality and volumes. It is intended for smaller developments up to 1ha in area that does not include internal roads. More complex projects may use the MUSIC model.
At the time of writing the Blue Factor model is free to use and can be accessed via: bluefactor.com.au
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