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Legislative amendments announced by the Palaszczuk government will quicken the process of building community, social, and affordable housing.
The Sunshine State is currently gripped by severe supply shortages. According to CoreLogic, Brisbane’s vacancy rate was 0.9 per cent at the conclusion of the September quarter, down from 1.6 per cent during the same quarter of 2021.
Under the changes, eligible community housing providers will be able to request an infrastructure designation to streamline development approvals, with Deputy Premier and planning minister Steven Miles stating that increasing housing supply was paramount to maintain the “great Queensland lifestyle”.
He maintains that it “makes sense for these providers to use the same approvals as public housing when building new community housing projects”.
“Currently, new public housing developed by the state can follow an infrastructure designation process, which streamlines development approvals,” he said.
“We will change the planning rules to allow social or affordable housing projects by community housing providers that meet the criteria, to also be eligible for an infrastructure designation.”
The change will result in swifter development of social and affordable housing projects throughout the state.
Sue Pope, chief executive officer at community housing provider Common Ground, welcomed the changes, which she believes will have incredible impact by allowing community housing providers to “deliver more affordable housing for those in greatest need in a faster and more cost-effective way”.
Mr Miles added that collaboration with relevant stakeholders, as well as local governments and industry bodies, is pertinent in ensuring nationwide housing challenges can be combated.
He said the new changes would allow community housing providers, such as Common Ground, to “get developments off the ground quicker”.
Infrastructure designations provide an alternative assessment pathway to a development application with local government and provide a considered, whole-of-government response to facilitate the efficient provision of community infrastructure.
The government did implore that appropriate environmental assessment and consultation is still required, a process that includes broad community consultation and targeted consultation with local government regarding any infrastructure requirements.
Other infrastructure eligible to request a designation include schools, hospitals, emergency service facilities, or sporting facilities.
The amendment to the planning framework comes into effect today (25 October) and follows the state government’s housing summit, which began on 20 October and looked to address a host of issues surrounding the state’s housing market. The summit also saw the government field a number of key proposals, which included the relaxation of planning legislation to bolster building activity.
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