The Property Council has welcomed the release of the Queensland Government”s Housing Summit Outcomes Report. The report follows the landmark joint industry and government Housing Summit in October which was included as a key recommendation in A home for every Queenslander.
While pleased to see that the four key recommendations within A home for every Queenslander have been considered, the Property Council believes that many of the ‘areas for further work” within the report should be progressed urgently.
The Housing Summit provided a unqiue opportunity for Government and the private sector to work together on a suite of bold refroms to ease immediate housing pressures and set Queensland up for future growth and it is vital that this mometum is retained.
The report contains a range of new initiatives and areas for further investigation, many of which were initially recommended in A home for every Queenslander.
The way forward
Combines measures to enable and accelerate a recovery in the private market housing supply, with complementary measures to ensure housing support for people in greatest need in the interim.
Government land
- Audit of state-owned land and buildings to identify underutilised sites that can be re-purposed for residential use. Seven sites have so far been short listed in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Bundaberg and Hervey Bay
- Councils were invited to submit underutilised sites for consideration, with over 500 sites being considered
- An online portal to present opportunities to government that have the potential to deliver new housing stock
Role of Government
- Housing Delivery Board to be established with all relevant Director-Generals to deliver a whole-of-government approach to housing
- Remit of EDQ to be strengthened, to deliver more housing supply
- Work with local governments to deliver local housing strategies
- Work with Australian Government on National Housing Accord
Planning
- Government will develop and progress a suite of planning measures
- Review of SEQRP has been fast tracked, with the first meeting of the Regional Planning Committee held last week
- Work to declare new Priority Development Areas to bring more land to market
- Introduce Priority Growth Areas to unlock land an deliver housing supply
- Streamlined planning approvals for social and affordable housing projects
- Consultation on an inclusionary planning approach
Community
- $5m for a community and awareness campaign on growth
Build to Rent
- Consideration of the merit of land tax concessions in the context of delivery of affordable housing
Infrastructure
- Expand catalyst infrastructure fund to further unlock development
- Commence the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan
Community Titles
- Reform body corporate legislation to allow for terminating uneconomical community titles schemes to facilitate renewal and redevelopment
Next steps
- Housing Roundtable will reconvene in March 2023
If you have any questions about the Housing Summit Outcomes report or A home for every Queenslander, please do not hesitate to reach out to our advocacy team at [email protected].