Green tape for housing approvals slashed as federal government races to meet target

17 hours ago 1

Approvals for almost 5000 homes across the country have been forced through federal environmental laws after waiting years for the green light as the government attempts to meet its 1.2 million new home target by the end of the decade.

Figures released by Housing Minister Clare O’Neil and Environment Minister Murray Watt show 1567 planned homes in NSW and 2500 in Victoria have been approved since August, but there are still up to 22,000 still to be given approval for construction.

More than 4600 homes won approval under federal environmental law in two months.

The speed at which homes are approved for construction across the states and territories was a key complaint at the three-day economic roundtable chaired by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in August. Many builders and developers are upset at the time and cost involved in getting formal approval for projects.

A housing strike team to move through applications that required approval under federal environmental laws was one of the proposals to emerge from the roundtable.

But the government had already started to prioritise housing developments that required approval under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).

Since August, 4461 homes have moved through the EPBC approval process compared to 1593 for the same period last financial year.

The approvals include 2200 homes around the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, 1300 properties in the Tweed Shire Council area in northern NSW, 182 near Maitland in the Hunter Valley and 243 homes in the Margaret River area of Western Australia.

A 309-home project to the south of Brisbane at Riverbend, first proposed in 2018, is also among works approved since the start of the financial year.

O’Neil said having 4600 homes approved was a step towards the government meeting its broader goal of 1.2 million homes.

“It’s simply too hard to build a house in Australia today. There are endless layers of bureaucracy across three levels of government to wade through before builders can lay a brick,” she said.

“The Commonwealth can’t fix this problem alone, but it’s not going to get fixed without use. These numbers show that we’ve made a meaningful start with a lot more to come.”

The government is already well behind on its 1.2 million home target as recent approvals data suggest it will fall up to 200,000 properties short. Over the past 12 months, almost 190,000 homes have been approved for construction – well short of the 240,000 a year needed for the government to hit its goal.

There has been a lift in approvals affected by environmental laws but there are still at least 22,000 to work through.

Watt said those approvals should be worked through quickly as developers who completed all required paperwork and supporting documentation were being prioritised.

“Fast-tracked projects still have to meet all environmental requirements, but by focusing our resources and sharpening our processes, we are getting the nation’s housing pipeline moving,” he said.

The Coalition says the government is still failing to meet its promises to voters.

Opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg said despite $60 billion in additional funding, the shortfall in approvals meant the plan to build 1.2 million homes by mid-2029 had gone from a “promise to a nightmare”.