NSW Planning Reforms Passed to Fast-Track Housing Completions

The New South Wales government has passed significant planning reforms aimed at accelerating housing construction and addressing the state’s housing crisis. The "Planning System Reforms Bill 2025" overhauls the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, introducing measures to streamline approvals, reduce red tape, and boost the delivery of new homes.

• The reforms aim to build more homes faster by modernising the planning system.
• Barriers to prefabricated and modular housing will be removed.
• Building approval processes will be simplified and duplication eliminated.
• Penalties for certifier conflicts of interest will be significantly increased.
• New authorities and pathways will be established to coordinate and speed up development.

The reforms introduce a statewide approach for prefabricated building approvals, aiming to provide industry certainty and encourage the use of modern methods of construction (MMC). This is expected to reduce construction costs by up to 20 per cent and speed up build times by up to 50 per cent. Clear rules for the manufacture, supply, transport, delivery, and installation of prefabricated buildings will also be established to increase consumer confidence.

Beyond prefabricated homes, the legislation seeks to simplify complex building approval processes for all types of housing. Key changes include removing duplication between building and planning legislation, enhancing certifier accountability, and streamlining building and occupation approvals. A significant change will allow for a single set of designs for apartment buildings to gain building approval, potentially saving an average of $327,000 per block. Minor variations during construction will also be permitted without requiring re-approval from local councils.

To restore transparency and lift consumer confidence, the reforms will introduce stronger conflict-of-interest laws for certifiers. Maximum court-imposed penalties for breaches will increase from $33,000 to $1.1 million, and regulators will gain the power to immediately suspend a certifier’s registration when breaches are found. A clearer statutory conflict of interest test will also be introduced.

A new central Development Coordination Authority will be established to advise on large projects across NSW government agencies, consolidating input from various departments into a single cohesive response. The Housing Delivery Authority will also be enshrined in law, giving the state a permanent voice in driving housing delivery. The reforms also aim to simplify planning pathways by expanding complying development and introducing a ‘targeted assessment’ pathway for projects that have already undergone strategic planning and consultation.

The reforms will see the abolition of government-appointed Sydney district and regional planning panels. Decision-making responsibilities for significant and complex developments will transition from elected representatives to appointed panels. Local planning panels will remain, but local councillors will be removed from the development application decision-making process in regional areas.

The Building Productivity Reforms are set to be brought to NSW Parliament in 2026, with the government committed to implementing these changes swiftly to meet the state’s housing targets.

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