Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said the past two years had seen encouraging early momentum with major planning reforms, but more work was essential to tackle ongoing barriers to housing delivery.
"We've seen genuine progress, including the establishment of the Housing Delivery Authority and the Housing Taskforce, substantial investment in critical infrastructure, and reforms to allow more low and mid-rise housing and transport-oriented development," Ms Stevenson said.
"But NSW is forecast to fall 185,000 homes short of its National Housing Accord target, and with persistent delays in planning approvals, rising regulatory costs, and mounting government taxes and charges there's still a long way to go to get back on track.
"Developers are already dealing a range of cost pressures in terms of making projects viable and the Government's proposal to shift the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) onto property owners will add yet another cost barrier to new housing supply.
"Shifting the full burden of emergency services funding onto property - rather than spreading the load among all those who access these services - risks pushing up rents, deterring investment, and making it even harder to get new homes built," she said.
The Property Council assessed the Government's progress against five key industry priorities:
- Unlocking new and diverse housing supply: Strong initiatives like low and mid-rise housing reforms and transport-oriented development are positive but addressing development feasibility with a focus on reducing the impact of government taxes, fees and charges is now vital to close the significant housing gap.
Maintaining NSW as an attractive investment destination: NSW continues to be well positioned nationally, but there's no room for complacency. The Industrial Lands Action Plan is a welcome solution to the critical land shortage and investment attractiveness. However, a thorough review of current tax policies to assess impact on access to capital, development feasibility, and housing delivery is now required.
- Improving certainty and timeliness in the planning system: Despite new funding for the Planning Portal, clear housing targets and a focus on accelerated assessment for major residential projects, the process remains stubbornly slow and complicated. Industry is still dealing with conflicting requirements and additional agency requests, and urgently needs more streamlined and efficient processes to speed up post-consent approvals to move projects from approval to construction more quickly.
- Supporting industry leadership for a net-zero built environment: Initial steps - including improvements made to energy and building performance certifications and the Net Zero Plan - are promising, but more clarity and consistency are needed in terms of implementation. A dedicated Net Zero Industry Plan and clear targets for government-owned buildings will provide more certainty.
- Investing strategically in our growing regions: Record infrastructure investments, particularly around Western Sydney's Aerotropolis, are welcome. But the Government must speed up regional precinct developments like Broadmeadow, reinstate essential funding programs such as the Newcastle Mines Grouting Fund, and address critical transport connectivity gaps in the Illawarra Shoalhaven.
"The Property Council's advocacy over the last two years has made significant impact in influencing and progressing much of the work to date and industry will continue to work closely with the Government to push these and other critical issues forward," Ms Stevenson said.
"If we can achieve greater clarity, consistency, and speed in planning and investment frameworks, NSW can unlock more opportunities that will take us closer to the goal of being the best place in Australia to invest, live, and build stronger communities," she said.
