NSW housing reforms pass: Major changes to fast-track home building revealed
Mum and dad developers will have their wait times for DAs slashed from an average of 100 days to just 20 as part of sweeping planning reforms. See where new homes will be fast tracked.
Mum and dad developers will have their DA wait times slashed from an average of 100 days to just 20 as part of sweeping planning reforms set to supercharge NSW’s housing supply.
The major reforms to the state’s planning act, approved by NSW Parliament overnight, will see a dramatic expansion of housing development applications deemed “compliant” by the NSW Government, meaning assessment times will be cut by up to 80 per cent.
Meanwhile, the time it takes to approve a low and mid-rise housing development in hundreds of town centres across the city, as well as pattern book homes, will also be halved, meaning more homes can be built in more locations, faster.
The change could see the wait times to approve as many as 112,000 homes within 800 metres of town centres cut in half.
The major reforms of the pre-historic planning laws come after The Daily Telegraph’s campaign calling for the NSW Government to “cut the act”, alongside prominent developments and architects in December 2024.
Meanwhile, the percentage of development applications considered to be compliant to the state’s planning laws is expected to rise from 40 per cent to an estimated 75 per cent, in a move set to strip away strangling red tape and build more homes.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the approval from parliament was a “a major step forward” in the fight against the housing crisis.
“For too long, NSW has been held back by a system that was slow, complex and out of step with the necessity to deliver more homes for those who need them,” he said on Wednesday.
“These reforms will help us build more homes faster, in the right places, giving young people and families the chance to access a home.”
The reforms, which also received bi-partisan support, also cemented the role of the Housing Delivery Authority and its troika of approvers.
Planning Minister Paul Scully said the reforms would play a part in tackling NSW’s housing challenges and “enabling a modern economy”.
“This does not mean that we will take our foot off the pedal,” he said. “If anything, the real work starts now, and we will be working hard to see these reforms implemented.
“This Bill will enable a planning system fit for the 21st century, one that supports housing and energy delivery, encourages job creation, investment and builds better communities.”
But the reforms aren’t expected to be a silver bullet solution, after revelations last month 4000 fewer NSW homes were built in first year of the Nation Housing Accord, with Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealing 42,581 homes built in the year to June, down from 46,865 in the year previous.
Just days ago, more data showed housing approvals in NSW rose 23 per cent year-on-year, with more than 50,000 additional homes given the green light.
On December 31 last year, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders and Shadow Planning spokesman Scott Farlow wrote to the NSW Premier calling for a “bipartisan” approach to housing reforms after previous attempts were stymied in the Upper House.
Mr Speakman called for an “urgent joint government and opposition planning system roundtable” bringing together the housing industry, local councils and other key stakeholders.
Urban Taskforce Australia boss, Tom Forrest, said the reforms would result in more housing, cheaper rents and more affordable housing options.
“We now have sharper, better planning tools to help address the housing supply crisis,” he said. “For too long housing has been treated almost as a byproduct of the NSW planning legislation.
“These reforms help put housing front and centre of the raison d’etre of planning laws in NSW.”
Mr Forrest said the reforms couldn’t have come at a better time, after ABS data earlier this week named and shamed the Sydney councils lagging dramatically behind in approvals.
Hunters Hill Council approved just 33 homes in the last year, while 174 homes were approved in Woollahra.
Just 187 homes were also approved in the Waverley local government area in the first two months of the Housing Accords.
Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW chief executive Stuart Ayres said parliament has “put homes before politics”.
“NSW is entrenched in a chronic undersupply of housing and politics can no longer be used to lock people out of a home,” he said. “Housing performance must become the lens through which all planning decisions are made. Industry stands ready to partner with Government to deliver the homes NSW needs – but time is of the essence.”
Housing Now! boss David Borger said the reforms would clear the “logjam” and get homes built.
“For too long, NSW has had one of the slowest and most complicated planning systems in the country. This Bill gives us a faster, fairer and more modern system that will help councils, communities and builders get on with it.”
However, Local Government NSW president and Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller said while councils recognised the need for sensible streamlining, her organisation remained opposed to the HDA in its current form.
“The passage of the Bill represents a significant change to the planning landscape,” she said. “We know there are diverse views among our members as well as local communities about its potential impacts, reflecting the diversity of our communities and the importance of local planning to their character and liveability.
“LGNSW also continues to raise concerns about changes to planning panels that seek to further limit the role of locally elected representatives in determining development.”
Ms Miller said councils continued to raise the critical need for timely investment in infrastructure to accommodate growth.
Originally published as NSW housing reforms pass: Major changes to fast-track home building revealed
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