As the dust settles on landmark changes to the prehistoric and red tape-filled planning laws, The Saturday Telegraph called on industry leaders to grade Planning Minister Paul Scully and Premier Chris Minns’ report card of the first year of the accords.

And while reforms played a staring role in the grading, the gaping hole in home completion

numbers raised eyebrows.

Industry experts were asked to issue the government a grading on the pace of the response and delivery to address the housing supply crisis with three key metrics, overall supply and affordability, the speed of reforms and results so far.

Urban Taskforce boss Tom Forrest’s said the overall performance on housing supply and the pace of the reforms both deserved a grading of B, while he scored the government a ‘C’ on the results so far, with the industry expert declaring that while “the planning reforms have been significant, the proof of the pudding is the eating it up - how many new homes have been actually built?”

“The accords don’t measure approvals, it looks at supply and those numbers aren’t great,” he said.

And while Mr Forrest said the planning reforms should be celebrated, the response “started slow out of the gate and didn’t take full effect until the housing delivery authority was announced”.

“Turning housing approvals into real home completion is the real challenge – because if they are not feasible they will not get built.”

The Telegraph reported this week that major reforms to the state’s planning act 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, wait times to approve as many as 112,000 homes within 800 metres of town centres will also be cut in half under the low and mid-rise housing policy.

The Federal Government set its state counterparts a five-year target to deliver 377,000 new well-located homes across NSW, with the starting gun sounding in July 2024.

But Australian Bureau of Statistics data released in October confirmed 4000 fewer homes were built in first year of Housing Accord, compared to the 12 months prior.

The number of homes completed across NSW in the first twelve months of the accord was reported as 42,581, down from 46,865 in the year previous.

Housing Industry Association NSW executive Brad Armitage issued a scathing ‘F - fail’ mark responding to the overall performance on housing supply and affordability.

“Performance can only be measured by outcomes not wishes and NSW will fall short of its housing target by over 25,000 homes in 2025,” Mr Armitage argued.

“It is highly unlikely that we will build the needed 70,000 homes in 2026 either.”

But Mr Armitage issued a glowing endorsement of the pace of reforms - grading the NSW Government an A for “reforming the planning system and policies like Low and Mid-Rise Housing, Transport Orientated Development and pattern books”.

“However, you can’t live in an approval,” he said. “NSW is lagging behind the rest of the country with the largest shortfall in completions compared to targets.

“If that same effort is applied to polices which impact delivery then will see a significant increase in the number of homes we can deliver each year. So I’m scoring in the middle C.”

Meanwhile, Housing Now boss David Borger issued the government a ‘B” on the response to housing supply and affordability, telling this masthead “progress on supply and affordability is still too slow”.

“The pipeline is growing, yet it hasn’t translated into enough homes people can actually afford. The challenge now is turning plans into delivery,” he said.

However, Premier Chris Minns and Planning Minister Paul Scully were awarded an ‘A’ by the Housing Now leader for the pace of the reforms.

Mr Borger dubbed Chris Minns “the first YIMBY Premier” after throwing “everything at this – including the whole kitchen sink”.

But on the results so far, Mr Borger gave the government a ‘C’, declaring that while there is a good framework is in place, “the results haven’t yet flowed through”.

“High construction costs and skill shortages are holding things back.”

Meanwhile, Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW chief Stuart Ayres issued the government a C + on the overall performance on housing supply and affordability, arguing the “slow start to National Housing Accord has the government needing to make up lots of ground on supply”.

Mr Ayres said the government “placed all their eggs in the apartment basket while forgetting about the importance of actual houses”.

The UDIA NSW boss issued an ‘A-” for the pace of reforms, following the introduction of infill TOD and Low and Mid rise reforms, Housing Delivery Authority and the Planning Reforms Bill.

Meanwhile, he graded the results so far with a ‘B-’, calling for the government to meet the challegne of “getting more homes built”.

Planning Minister Paul Scully said the government had led “sweeping reforms and initiatives to unlock NSW housing potential and address the state’s housing challenges”, in response to the report card.

“The passage of the Planning Reform Bill this week creates a planning system fit for the 21st century, one that supports housing and energy delivery, encourages job creation, investment and builds better communities,” he argued. “In a new approach to addressing supply challenges we have also established the world leading $1 billion Pre-sale Finance Guarantee to help mid-level housing developments begin construction faster.

“Other key initiatives include the Housing Delivery Authority, Transport Oriented Development, Low and Mid-rise Housing policy, Infill Affordable Housing Scheme and State Led Rezonings we’re pursing every avenue available.

“Our reforms have been working to increase the supply of new homes for NSW and we now have more homes under construction than any other state or territory.”

The government’s response to housing has seen a rebalancing of new homes in Sydney towards existing infrastructure and new infrastructure investment including the Sydney Metro network, with 53 per cent of new homes earmarked for the city’s east.

The government report card comes as Planning Minister Paul Scully revealed he has taken the reins on plans for thousands of new homes and jobs in the city’s north and south west.

The Minister revealed exclusively to The Saturday Telegraph that the government will fast-track 3,000 new homes in Catherine Field as part of a 154-hectare site in Springfield Rd.

“More homes are in the pipeline for Catherine Field as a rezoning proposal for the area is brought into the fast lane through the state led rezoning policy,” Mr Scully said. “The proposal, which could unlock a further 3000 homes in a key location, (creates) a local community where people can live, work, play and relax.”

Meanwhile, in Marsden Park North, plans are being exhibited for 3900 new jobs alongside up to 960 new homes alongside a proposal for West Schofields, set out to deliver up to 2900 new homes and an additional 600 new jobs.

In September 2024, the NSW Government began work on the new proposals under the State

Significant Rezoning Policy, following earlier proposals that did not proceed due to flood evacuation risks.

“These two proposals present an exciting opportunity to shape Sydney’s northwest, creating new jobs and more flood resilient homes,” the Planning Minister said.