Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund

All 95 regional NSW councils are eligible for funding. Refer to the program guidelines (PDF, 598 KB) for a list of eligible councils.

Program funding will support strategic planning projects, investigations and technical studies that are consistent with the aims and objectives of the fund.

This includes:

• subregional and local planning strategies such as local housing strategies or growth management strategies
• affordable housing strategies and affordable housing contributions schemes
• technical studies that help identify residential lands
• structure plans or precinct master plans for lands with a significant residential component
• preparation of local environmental plan amendments that facilitate a significant housing or affordable housing opportunity
• infrastructure needs analysis, servicing strategies or infrastructure contributions plans that will better align infrastructure and housing delivery
• detailed planning and design guidelines such as amendments to development control plans
• projects that identify solutions to broader issues that have implications for the location and delivery of future housing supply
• any other strategic planning, policy or technical study that addresses the broader program objectives.

The funding cannot be used for development assessments, regionally significant development applications, planning proposal assessment, infrastructure or other capital works. 

An expert panel made up of independent third-party panellists and a departmental subject matter expert will assess all eligible applications against the program objectives and assessment criteria. The panel will make recommendations to an interagency committee made up of NSW Government representatives.

The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces will make the final decision on the recommendation from the expert panel and interagency committee to award the grant funding.

A probity advisor will oversee the program.

Applications are assessed against the following criteria to give them a weighted score out of 100. This is the breakdown:

• program aims and objectives (weighting 20%)
• strategic alignment (weighting 20%)
• project impact (weighting 30%)
• project scoping requirements (weighting 20%, 5% for each below)
  • project scope
  • delivery timeframe
  • capability to deliver
  • governance and risk management
• value for money (weighting 10%).

To ensure an equitable and geographic spread of program funding, councils that have not already received funding under the program may be prioritised by the assessment panel. The panel will also consider how well previously funded projects met specified timeframes, budget and scope requirements, and whether any project delays from previous rounds will affect the delivery of a project applied for in a subsequent round.