Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said the swift release of the criteria reflected the scale and urgency of the housing crisis facing NSW.
"The Housing Delivery Authority has a clear mandate - to drive more flexible and faster approval pathways across the state so we can get more housing delivered more quickly," Ms Stevenson said.
"It's very positive to see government moving at such a rapid pace with the release of EOI criteria and industry-specific Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for housing within just a few weeks of announcing the Authority.
"The speed and scope of the criteria, and the decision to pursue a template approach to SEARs aligns well with the Property Council's advocacy on this.
"We now need to see the accelerated action continue from the Authority in the new year to address the backlog of residential developments stuck in the planning system," she said.
Ms Stevenson said the Property Council had led calls for new approval pathways to speed up the delivery of more housing.
"The clock is ticking with almost six months of the National Housing Accord period already passed and insufficient progress made towards delivering the new homes we need to achieve our targets," Ms Stevenson said.
"Lowering SSD thresholds for large-scale residential development to $60 million in Greater Sydney and $30 million in regional areas should help to reduce delays and kickstart more approvals.
"The Authority and the changes for which the industry has advocated will give industry more confidence going into 2025.
"Next year still has its challenges - construction costs, skill shortages and the continued impost of government taxes on development feasibility all present barriers to the delivery of more housing, but this is a great way to finish the year, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with government to address these challenges" she said.
