The Housing Industry Association has called for an urgent overhaul of the nation’s planning and home approval process to help fix Australia’s ongoing housing crisis.
Red tape and unnecessary procedures mean councils across the country are struggling to get through the number of applications hitting their desks.
And the length of time taken for new home or major renovation applications to receive council approval is having a worsening effect on the housing and rental crisis, according to the nation’s peak housing industry body.
With current housing approvals taking over six months to be given the green light, an average application submitted today wouldn’t be ready until Easter 2025.
The HIA says significant planning reform is needed if the nation is to achieve its goal of building 1.2 million new homes by the decade’s end.
“House approvals are taking far too long to get through local councils and exacerbating Australia’s worsening housing and rental shortages,” HIA Executive Director of Planning and Environment Mike Hermon said.
“Planning systems across the country are buckling under the weight of current approvals, let alone addressing the necessary 40% increase in housing that Australia desperately needs.
“Under current systems, if you submit an application for a new home or major renovation today, you are unlikely to get approval to start this side of Christmas with standard house approvals taking well in excess of six months.”
The HIA is not alone in its desire to transform the home and reno approval process, with all states and territories backing the change.
However, more than a year since the federal, state, and territory governments signed the National Planning Reform Blueprint in August 2023, more needs to be done to implement measures that would help to speed up approvals.
In fact, a new scorecard compiled by the HIA to assess each region’s progress in implementing the Planning Blueprint reforms has seen no state or territory score higher than 3 out of 5 so far.
“All states and territories have recognised that significant planning reform is needed, which HIA strongly supports,” Mr Hermon said.
“However, 12 months on from the Planning Reform Blueprint being issued, we are yet to see the dial on approvals improve.”
“Yet on the ground, homeowners and builders are seeing no meaningful change, and instead, the opposite is occurring. House and apartment approval timelines continue to take longer and getting more complex to obtain.”
2024 HIA Scorecard
- Queensland 1.5 out of 5
- New South Wales 1.5 out of 5
- Northern Territory 1.5 out of 5
- Victoria 2 out of 5
- Tasmania 2 out of 5
- Australia Capital Territory 2.5 out of 5
- Western Australia 3 out of 5
- South Australia 3 out of 5
Mr Hermon hopes the new scorecard will encourage those in charge to finally break ground on some of the most essential reforms surrounding planning.
“Simply put, the time for business-as-usual solutions to planning and zoning issues has passed. Instead, we need bold leadership from all tiers of governments,” he said.
“HIA’s Planning Blueprint Scorecard sets out important initiatives to progress the necessary reforms to get shovel-ready land delivered faster and ultimately resulting in getting Australians into much-needed housing sooner,” concluded Mr Hermon.
