The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) says the Productivity Commission’s Interim Report on Housing Supply Regulation reinforces the critical role of strategic planning in delivering more homes in the right places.
PIA CEO Matt Collins said the report’s focus on strategic planning and infrastructure coordination was an important and welcome step towards meaningful housing reform.
“The Productivity Commission’s interim report recognises that the work needed to support housing growth must happen upfront through strategic planning, not be left until individual development applications arrive,” Mr Collins said.
“Governments at all three levels have underinvested in the plans, infrastructure and planning capability needed to turn reform into completed homes. If we are serious about addressing the housing crisis, that must change.”
Mr Collins said planners had long supported greater housing choice and density in well-located areas, but zoning reform needed to be backed by the planning and investment required to make development possible.
“PIA has long called for greater housing diversity and density in well-located areas, but lasting reform means not just allowing more homes but planning properly for them.”
“Upfront strategic planning is how governments can enable growth in the right places, coordinate the infrastructure needed to support it, manage risks such as floods and fires, and give communities confidence in how their neighbourhoods will grow.”
PIA particularly supports the Commission’s reform direction calling on governments to identify areas of high housing demand and address infrastructure requirements and development trade-offs upfront.
“Governments already have the tool to identify where housing growth should go: strategic planning. Up-to-date strategic plans provide the foundation for greater housing diversity, appropriate upzoning and faster assessment in the locations best able to support growth.”
Mr Collins said one of the report’s most important messages was that creating housing capacity did not guarantee housing delivery.
“For homes to be delivered, land needs to be more than simply zoned. It must also be serviced, infrastructure-ready and commercially feasible.”
“Strategic planning brings these considerations together upfront and gives new housing capacity a much better chance of becoming completed homes.”
Mr Collins said governments must also urgently address the barriers that arise after planning approval, including project feasibility, infrastructure delivery, financing and construction capacity.
“Hundreds of thousands of homes across Australia have planning approval but remain unbuilt. Governments must act across the entire housing delivery system and tackle the barriers actually preventing those homes from being constructed.”
PIA also supports the report’s call for more transparent reporting of approval outcomes and will continue advocating for nationally consistent housing data.
“Planning system data remains patchy, inconsistent and, in some places, simply absent. Tracking housing from strategic planning through application, approval and construction would give every jurisdiction the evidence to identify delays and target the real barriers to delivery.”
Responding to the Productivity Commission’s proposal to allow three-storey development across most residential areas, Mr Collins said decisions about increased density should reflect the circumstances and capacity of individual communities.
“Broadening opportunities for lower-rise density like townhouses and six-packs has an important role to play in addressing Australia’s housing shortage, but the key is making those decisions through robust strategic planning rather than treating every neighbourhood the same. Different communities have different infrastructure capacity, transport access, hazard exposure and opportunities for growth.”
PIA will review the interim report in detail and contribute to the Productivity Commission’s development of its final recommendations.
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