Western Downs Regional Council endorses Local Housing Action Plan with $5m funding commitment

Western Downs Regional Council has promoted a number of initiatives to help combat the growing regional housing shortage, including a $5m investment into the housing and land incentive.

Western Downs Regional Council has increased their investment into the housing and land incentive from $1m to $5m and endorsed a new Local Housing Action Plan in an effort to tackle the region’s housing shortages.

Mayor Andrew Smith said council was focused on attracting housing developments to keep pace with the growing region.

“The demand for local housing continues to grow, and council is serious about doing everything it can to counter the national housing shortage and encourage this type of investment in the region,” Mr Smith said.

“The housing and land development incentive is designed to stimulate construction of units, multicomplexes, and housing subdivisions across the Western Downs by offering generous application fee discounts and discounted infrastructure charges to approved developments.

“As a council, it’s important to demonstrate we’re open for business and supportive of the types of developments to ensure the Western Downs continues to be a desirable place to live, work, and relax.”

Mayor Andrew Smith.

The scheme was introduced in 2022 and included a $1m investment by council which has now increased to $5m and been extended to December 31, 2025, following a review of the policy, ongoing industry research and stakeholder feedback.

The new scheme also includes an opportunity to ‘reserve’ 50 per cent of the infrastructure charge at the time of approval to reduce the risk of missing out on the incentive.

Meanwhile eligible housing developments or residential subdivisions will no longer have to pay the costs to prepare a flood impact assessment, up to the value of $10,000.

Mr Smith said council had also adopted a Local Housing Action Plan which aims to develop actions which respond to local housing needs, establish strong foundations for longer-term housing responses, and boost collaboration between levels of government, housing providers, and social services.

“The Local Housing Action Plan was a direct action out of the region’s first Futures Summit held in May 2023 and is about achieving strong housing outcomes for the future of the region,” he said.

“The Leap identifies key priorities and actions to address the region’s needs, which hinges on strong partnerships between all levels of government, as well as private and not-for-profit organisations.

“Some of the areas addressed in the plan include identifying under-utilised land or property to optimise development, review the Planning Scheme to identify options to expand development, and explore opportunities to extend trunk infrastructure networks in the western corridor of Dalby.

”It also defines opportunities to advocate state and federal agencies for more funding for social and affordable housing in the region, and the requirement for large scale development approvals to explore needs and consider new stock for workforce accommodation.”

The Leap is delivered as part of the Queensland Housing Strategy 2017-2027.