National Planning Reform Blueprint
Cook AP
Author
The Albanese Government has established a comprehensive National Planning Reform Blueprint with ten key measures, agreed to by the National Cabinet in August 2023. This Blueprint aims to improve housing supply and affordability through planning, zoning, and land release reforms.
The Blueprint's key features are:
Planning Reform and Coordination: A national vision for urban and regional planning policy has been established, with unified policy approaches, definitions, and data sources. The government has committed to introducing legislation by July 2024 to standardise key housing terms across jurisdictions.
Housing Supply Focus: State, regional, and local governments must align their strategic plans with national housing supply targets, with regular reporting to National Cabinet. This supports the national target of building 1.2 million new well-located homes over five years from July 2024.
Development Streamlining: Planning Ministers will create accelerated development pathways, particularly for social and affordable housing, and streamline approval processes for eligible developments in well-located areas.
Strategic Planning: Planning Ministers are required to identify well-located 'development ready' land while protecting environmentally and economically significant areas. They must also work on streamlining approval pathways and prioritising amendments to support diverse housing, particularly medium and high-density housing near public transport and amenities.
These reforms demonstrate a coordinated approach between federal, state and local governments to address Australia's housing challenges through systematic planning reforms.
[1] https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2024-08/apo-nid328055.pdf
[2] https://treasury.gov.au/policy-topics/housing/blueprint