Business welcomes moves by NSW to address our housing challenge

Business Council of Australia

“Business welcomes new planning measures announced by the NSW Government today which will boost the supply of housing and encourage investment in affordable housing, Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.

“These reforms are in line with recommendations from our recent Housing Australia’s Talent paper, which underscored the need for efficient planning systems and consideration of up zoning of land to facilitate additional housing.

“The BCA has long called for state and federal governments to do the important work now to ensure we remain an attractive destination for people to live, to access good jobs and for businesses to attract workers they urgently need in order to expand and grow.

“These new planning measures are an important first step to address the planning challenges that are impacting housing affordability in NSW.

“Industry welcomes incentives through the State Significant Development planning approval pathway that will enable residential housing developers to include more affordable housing options in new projects.

“This is a win-win that enables more affordable housing for those who need it as well as more housing supply overall.

“There needs to be a clear plan for building new homes and infrastructure. Business calls on all levels of government to consider the planning of new housing stock in lock step with the planning of infrastructure, such as roads, schools and transport including by tying federal infrastructure to projects which support housing delivery.

“Business looks forward to working with state and federal governments to ensure we make the appropriate changes to our planning systems now to address our national housing challenges.”

/Public Release. View in full here.