Monday 17 February 2025
MEDIA RELEASE
Property Council Welcomes Housing Delivery Authority Progress
The Property Council of Australia has welcomed a report from the first meeting of the new Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) which recommends the Minister for Planning declare 12 projects which together could deliver 6,855 homes as State Significant Development (SSD).
Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said the recommendations demonstrated progress in unlocking much- needed housing supply and that the HDA had set a good pace, but the challenge now was to scale up the efforts made.
“Establishment of the HDA was a vital step in taking bold action to address the housing affordability crisis and advance the delivery of much-needed housing stock.
“The Authority has been hard at work to consider over 160 applications, which has already resulted in the frequency of meetings being doubled from monthly to every fortnight.
“Pending the Minister’s approval, 6,855 homes in the pipeline means we could be 6,855 homes closer to meeting the state’s target set under the National Housing Accord, and in well-located areas like Canada Bay, Parramatta, and Ryde,” Ms Stevenson said.
Ms Stevenson said that with housing supply still failing to keep pace with demand, it was important to see government focus on removing barriers that delay approvals, increase costs, and make housing less accessible.
“The latest Productivity Commission report on housing construction productivity, released today, highlights the urgent need for reform in NSW, confirming the state is lagging other states when it comes to delivery of new homes to meet demand.
“The delays in NSW are chronic. The report highlights one developer that faced more than 230 conditions on a single Development Application and shows the average apartment construction timeframe has blown out to 27.8 months—one of the worst in the country.
“The Property Council of Australia has long called for faster planning approvals, better coordination across government, and a stronger focus on innovation – all elements of the challenge which are now reinforced by the Productivity Commission’s findings,” Ms Stevenson said.
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Media: Andrew Parkinson | 0404 615 596 | [email protected]