NSW needs more homes for our growing population. The NSW Government is boosting housing supply by fast-tracking new home assessments, investing in infrastructure and creating a housing supply pipeline.
By providing funding and working with councils and industry, the NSW Government will unlock hundreds of thousands of new homes over 4 years.
Initiatives
Prioritising housing assessments and making the planning system more efficient will help unlock 62,500 homes sooner.
By working with councils and industry, we will continue building a more responsive and productive planning system, cutting the time it takes to unlock land for new homes and securing the approvals needed for new homes to be built.
Funding allocation
$87.82m over 2 years.
Delivery
- 30,000 home sites rezoned.
- 32,500 home sites approved from assessment of state and regionally significant applications.
- Easy online service from the NSW Planning Portal.
How it will be delivered
- Prioritising resources for a simple, faster planning assessment including:
- reducing state significant assessment times from 120 days to 100 days
- reducing regionally significant assessment times from 366 days to 275 days
- reducing planning proposal assessment times from 571 to 380 days
- 90% of planning issues referred to other state agencies determined within agreed timeframes
- fit for purpose employment zones that support jobs growth.
- Case management services to resolve high value and complex housing applications.
- A planning ‘concierge’ to help people use the NSW planning system.
- Integration of the NSW Planning Portal into councils’ processes to deliver online services.
Who will benefit
The program builds on recent reforms to the planning system and will benefit:
- the community who can easily access planning services
- councils to deliver streamlined planning service
- housing developers who can invest in NSW with more certainty.
Key milestones
- December 2022: All local environmental plans updated with fit for purpose employment zones to improve ability of businesses to establish, expand or adapt.
- June 2023: Report on expedited housing supply from Faster Local Assessment Grant program.
- December 2023: Digital integration of council systems through NSW Planning Portal API Grant funding.
- June 2023: Benchmark planning assessment times achieved.
- June 2024: 30,000 home sites rezoned and 32,500 home sites approved.
Key benefits
- Faster planning approvals to boost housing supply.
- Councils have increased capability and capacity to meet planning demand.
- Timely, certain and transparent planning system.
- Easier dealings with government.
- Improved outcomes for applicants because of support for state-wide integration of council systems with NSW Planning Portal.
New resources will be available to assess complex local housing applications and support councils to reduce timeframes. This will help free up councils to focus on other simpler housing applications and help to move more housing applications through the system faster.
Find out more about the planning for growth initiative including what is being delivered, who will benefit and milestones.
New and growing communities will be backed by infrastructure investment to get more homes into the supply pipeline faster. A new round of the Accelerated Infrastructure Fund will co-fund and accelerate the delivery of shovel-ready infrastructure projects, enabling the delivery of thousands of new homes in Sydney and key regional areas.
Find out more about this round of the Accelerated Infrastructure Fund, including what is being delivered, benefits and milestones.
The NSW Government will drive more rezonings to free up land for new homes, creating great communities with access to infrastructure and open space. This will supercharge the building of new homes and provide industry certainty. This is expected to unlock at least 70,000 additional homes.
Funding allocation
$73.54m over 2 years.
Delivery
Rezoning of 70,000 home sites in priority locations across metropolitan and regional NSW.
How it will be delivered
The Department of Planning and Environment will determine priority locations for new homes planned through state-led rezoning assessments.
Who will benefit
The community will benefit, with more homes to own or rent in places with access to transport, services, and open space. The program enables faster delivery of projects that deliver more housing.
Key milestones
- November/December 2022: Announcement of first package of state-led rezonings and state-assessed planning proposals.
- December 2022: Nominations open for the state-assessed planning proposal pathway.
- November 2022 - June 2024: Public exhibition of the various state-led rezonings and state-assessed planning proposals.
- Quarter 2 2024: 70,000 homes sites rezoned.
Key benefits
- More land available more quickly for new homes and more housing choice.
- Communities have access to the services and infrastructure they need.
Complex and high-value projects that can deliver housing in the right locations will be supported with an expert assessment team. This means more homes can be built sooner, saving time and money for business and make NSW a more attractive place in which to invest in new homes.
