Friday 15 November 2024
MEDIA RELEASE
Industry Welcomes New Authority and Faster Approvals to Boost Housing Supply
The Property Council of Australia today welcomed Premier Chris Minns’ announcement, as part of the Daily Telegraph’s Bradfield Oration, standing up a new Housing Delivery Authority and introducing new State Significant Development (SSD) and rezoning pathways to accelerate housing approvals.
NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said the announcement responded to the Property Council’s calls to offer more flexible and faster approval pathways across the state.
“We’ve advocated consistently for the urgent need to address the growing backlog of residential developments stuck in NSW’s planning system,” Ms Stevenson said.
“These changes have the potential to deliver more of the much-needed homes required to meet the state’s National Housing Accord targets,” she said.
Ms Stevenson said that lowering SSD thresholds for large-scale residential development to $60 million in Greater Sydney and $30 million in regional areas is a necessary step to reduce delays in the approval process.
“It’s encouraging to see Government has taken our recommendations on board to drive more investment to support housing growth,” Ms Stevenson said.
“These changes are a vital move to remove unnecessary delays in the approvals process, provide greater certainty to the industry and address housing availability across the state.
“Time is money. Improving planning approval timeframes will make a significant difference to development feasibility with potential to deliver major savings to the cost of a new home in NSW.
“There is still work to be done to address broader industry challenges such as the costs of construction, labour shortages and the impacts of taxes on feasibility to support the government’s housing agenda,” she said.
The Property Council is encouraged by the Minns Government’s bold housing announcements at today’s Bradfield Oration and their commitment to address the issues at hand. We look forward to working with the government to further refine the policy details before they come into effect in early 2025.
ENDS
Media: Emma Thompson | 0458 294 817 | [email protected]