NSW Premier Chris Minns announces new housing target for local councils

NSW will completely overhaul where new homes will be built in the next five years. Here’s which local Sydney councils will take on the bulk of new homes.

NSW will completely overhaul where new homes are built, with councils in Sydney’s inner-city, east and north to take on the bulk of new homes.

The state will rebalance the build of new homes away from western Sydney.

Newly released targets show the state aims to build 377,000 new homes over the next five years, 2000 more than NSW’s obligations under the National Housing Accord.

Almost all of the new homes will be built in infill areas.

Only 18 per cent will be built in greenfield locations, which require infrastructure such as roads, public transport, schools and housing.

In total, the Eastern LGAs will contribute 107,100 new homes over the next five years, or 41 per cent of the new homes planned for Sydney.

Eastern LGAs are classified as Bayside, Burwood, Canada Bay, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Inner West, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney, Northern Beaches, Randwick, Ryde, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney, Waverley, Willoughby and Woollahra.

Over the next five years, suburbs in Sydney’s north, east and centre will contribute to 41 of new homes planned for the city. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

The biggest rebalancing will happen in the Ku-ring-gai Local Council in Sydney’s North Shore, which has resisted the government’s Transport Oriented Development (TOD) scheme, which aims to build taller and more dense homes in areas close to transport hubs and town centres.

The LGA has been given a target of 7600 new homes to be completed by 2029. Currently the planned number of homes in the housing pipelines represents just more than 20 per cent of this figure – the biggest gap out of all LGAs in the Eastern Area.

Central LGAs including Blacktown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Georges River and Parramatta have a target of 97,200, or 37 per cent of new homes in Sydney.

Western LGAs including Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Penrith and Wollondilly will aim to deliver 59,100 new homes, accounting for 22 per cent of new homes in Sydney.

The remainder of the 113,600 homes will be built in the Central Coast LGA (9400), the Illawarra-Shoalhaven LGAs (18,800), Greater New Castle LGAs (30,400) and in outer regional NSW (55,000).

Speaking at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), NSW Premier Chris Minns said it will be a “substantial change” for some councils, flagging areas like Ku-ring-gai, Hunters Hill and Woolhara.

He also said that while the targets will be “hard to meet,” the state had no choice.

“As I see it today – no challenge is bigger than the housing crisis facing,” he said.

“It touches every major area of public policy in the state. We’re talking about a single problem that also undermines social mobility makes people work longer and harder for less reward.”

“(It) creates divides between generations, in some instances drives a physical wedge between families and that undermines an entire generations entry into professional and personal horizons as they reach adulthood and look to the future.”

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the government should focus on petitioning the federal government to scale back the state’s intake of overseas migrants.

“We know that immigration is putting unsustainable pressure on rents and prices. Targets and up-zonings take a long time to have any impact,” he said.

“Scaling back immigration is something that can affect the housing market straight away.”

State flags $200m pool for new home builds

Local councils across NSW will be able to access a $200m Faster Assessments Council Incentives and Grants program if they reach their housing targets, Mr Minns unveiled on Wednesday.

Councils who beat their targets can access grants to help fund local infrastructure like sporting facilities, green spaces, hospitals and the maintenance of local streets, and footpaths.

“In other words, meeting and beating the housing targets will automatically translate to

greater funding support,” he said.

“There are councils out there that want to embrace this challenge; that want to welcome

more families into their community.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns is expected to reveal new housing targets for local councils in NSW. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

The progress of NSW’s 43 local councils will also be measured in the Council League Table, which will be published imminently.

Under the National Housing Accord, NSW is expected to deliver 375,000 homes in the five years from mid-2024, however Mr Minns has previously said there’s “no way” NSW will build 75,000 homes in the first year.

On Wednesday, Mr Minns said he believes the previous targets failed after development was focused in Western Sydney, creating urban sprawl in areas without infrastructure.

As part of the announcement, councils will be able to access a $200m reward pool if they meet their target. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Mr Minns said the new incentives will give local councils extra support.

“We’ve asked local councils to pick up the slack, to maintain the roads, to provide the parking, to make sure services are there for entire new communities,” he said.

“But they haven’t been given the help they need to do it; to keep up with the immense

change happening around them.”

However the Opposition has said the $200m incentive will not go far enough to incentivise councils to build more homes.

“That’s going to be an average of $535 per target dwelling. That’s not going to even hit the sides,” said Mr Speakman.

“You can have all the targets in the world but unless it’s financially feasible to build dwelling, they won’t happen.”

Councils from the Greater Sydney, Illawarra-Shoalhaven, Lower Hunter and Central Coast regions will be allowed to access the new incentive alongside existing developer Housing and Productivity Contribution.

The levy, which is expected to collect $700m annually, collects funds from developers to contribute to community infrastructure projects.

Originally published as NSW Premier Chris Minns announces new housing target for local councils