December 2024

A message from the Chair of the State Planning Commission - Craig Holden

And while work to finalise the draft GARP continues into 2025 – our attention also turns to the next five draft country regional plans draft which will be released for consultation in the first half of next year – the details of which will be published the Regional Planning Portal once ready.

Alongside the Regional Planning Program, the Commission will be focused on an important tree planting and protection code amendment early in 2025, as well as numerous projects and initiatives connected to the Housing Roadmap and Planning System Implementation Review, to be announced in the new year.

On behalf of the Commission I would like to thank you all for your support and collaboration this year, and wish you a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Message from the Deputy Chief Executive, Department for Housing and Urban Development - Sally Smith

Two recent statewide code amendments seek to directly address housing supply and affordability – the Accommodation Diversity and the Affordable Housing Code Amendments are now in progress, and you can read more about them in the articles below.

2024 was a big year at PLUS, and 2025 is looking even bigger with - to echo Craig - the continuation of the Regional Planning Program and numerous projects related to the Housing Roadmap.

There will be plenty to report in the new year but until then, I wish you and your families a happy and relaxed holiday season.

Planning Ahead will resume in February 2025.

Consultation opens on accommodation diversity

Have your say on proposed changes to the planning rules that provide more flexibility for building apartment-style homes and retirement living across the state.

The State Planning Commission has reviewed the planning rules for apartments, including student accommodation, residential flat buildings, supported accommodation and retirement living.

The draft Accommodation Diversity Code Amendment proposes improvements to enhance housing diversity and provide more flexibility for building apartment-style homes and retirement living across the state.

Key features proposed in the draft code amendment include:

• introducing a new form of ‘co-living’ accommodation for residences that rely on shared facilities, such as common kitchens or bathrooms
• allowing increased building height up to 4-6 storeys for large retirement villages and supported living developments to provide more accommodation for our ageing population to continue living in their own communities
• more flexibility in apartment design, by focusing on rules that contribute to a comfortable home, such as minimum bedroom and living area dimensions, rather than minimum total floor area
• more guidance on how shared rooms and open spaces are designed, including being conveniently located near residences and having good access to sunlight, appropriate seating, lighting and other features
• providing better guidance on the provision of communal recreation spaces and shared facilities for student accommodation.

A draft practice guideline for co-living and student accommodation has also been prepared, outlining the features of communal spaces and shared facilities that should be provided to meet residents’ needs, such recreational spaces and kitchen, dining, bathroom and laundry facilities. Feedback is also invited on the draft guideline.

Providing greater flexibility and increasing the number of apartment-style homes that can be built is part of the Housing Roadmap to facilitate more homes for South Australians.

Consultation closes on 27 February 2025.

For more information and to provide your feedback visit the PlanSA and YourSAy websites.

Affordable Housing Code Amendment initiated

The South Australian Government is taking action to boost the amount of affordable housing delivered as part of new residential developments.

Investigations to update the planning system’s ‘Affordable Housing Overlay’, which outlines where and how affordable housing is delivered as part of new residential developments, include:

• extending the Affordable Housing Overlay to include all Greater Adelaide residential areas
• reviewing the threshold for applying affordable housing criteria, which is currently set to developments of at least 20 residential allotments or homes
• reviewing incentives to encourage more affordable homes as part of new developments.

The Affordable Housing Overlay Code Amendment has been initiated and will be open for public feedback next year.

Delivering more affordable housing is a government priority outlined in the Housing Roadmap to help low to moderate income households and vulnerable members of the community.

These improvements to the planning system also deliver on the recommendation from the Expert Panel for the Planning System Implementation Review to expand the Affordable Housing Overlay.

Affordable housing is accommodation for low to moderate income households. The affordable housing price point is $495,000 for a dwelling in Adelaide, or $222,750 for land only.

The State Government’s HomeSeeker website has information on buying or renting an affordable property and lists properties available to eligible South Australians.

Have your say on assessment improvements

Consultation is open on the Assessment Improvements Code Amendment, which proposes technical amendments to South Australia’s Planning and Design Code.

This code amendment is an opportunity to improve the Code’s general performance, interpretation and consistency, which can lead to better planning outcomes for the benefit of all South Australians.

The proposed amendments have been informed by feedback received by local council, planning industry professionals and other users of the Code. It also forms part of the response to the Planning System Implementation Review, implementing recommendations of the Expert Panel supported by the State Government.

Monitoring and reviewing the Code and identifying where adjustments may be required in response to stakeholder feedback is an ongoing activity of the State Planning Commission and the Planning and Land Use Services division of the Department for Housing and Urban Development.

The draft Assessment Improvements Code Amendment builds upon the Miscellaneous Technical Enhancement Code Amendment, which came into effect on 1 June 2023, and similarly focused on addressing technical and operational elements within the Code, as opposed to changing policy intent or outcomes.

Consultation on the draft Assessment Improvements Code Amendment is open until 5:00 pm Tuesday 4 March 2025.

Your feedback is important and will help to shape the final Code Amendment presented to the Minister for Planning for a decision.

Further information on the draft Code Amendment and how to provide feedback is available on the PlanSA and YourSAy websites.

Rezoning Dry Creek for more housing

The number of potential new homes to be built at Dry Creek will increase by at least 50 percent, with the Dry Creek Code Amendment initiated and investigations underway for at least 15,000 dwellings at the site.

The Dry Creek proposal has the potential to accommodate 35,000 people and include a minimum of 15 per cent affordable housing.

The proposal will include the development of a new, master planned community with appropriate civil infrastructure as well as social, healthcare, education, major open space and public transport to support the growing population.

The Dry Creek salt fields have long been earmarked as a future growth area and have been identified in draft Greater Adelaide Regional Plan (GARP) as a ‘State Significant Urban Renewal Area’.

Given the potential to significantly increase the population in the area, the code amendment will closely examine future transport options and possibilities, including the nearby rail network. The area is adjacent two major transport routes - the Salisbury Highway and Port Wakefield Road – with improvements to these arterial roads to be investigated.

Detailed investigations will now be undertaken, with consultation on the Dry Creek Code Amendment anticipated to commence at the end of 2025. Community, council and industry will be invited to share their feedback on the draft code amendment before it is finalised.

The land will not be rezoned until these detailed investigations are completed to ensure appropriate services are in place for the new community and impacts on the site’s salt fields are managed before development begins.

As detailed in the Housing Roadmap, its anticipated land division at the site will occur from 2027 onwards, with engineering reports, water and wastewater infrastructure agreements to follow.

Consultation on community title land division closes 20 December

Consultation on draft amendments to the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017 is open until Friday, 20 December.

The draft amendments were prepared in response to cases where community lots have been sold without suitable access.

The draft Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) (Community Title Land Division) Amendment Regulations 2024 were prepared in response to cases where community lots have been sold without suitable access.

These proposed changes are part of the State Government’s commitment to ensuring consumers purchasing community title properties are adequately protected.

Further information about the draft amendments can be found on the PlanSA website.

Feedback can be submitted to PlanSASubmissions@sa.gov.au by 20 December 2024.

PIA Awards 2024

From L to R: Sarah Melin, Minister for Planning Nick Champion, Chris Rudd and Jo-Anne Ragless

The PLUS team were honoured to received three awards at the recent Planning Institute of Australia SA Excellence awards.

Sarah Melin won both the ‘Planning Champion’ and ‘Minister’s Award’, for her tenacity and dedication to helping establish the new higher education pathways for planning and built environment students in SA – work which will have a lasting impact on the industry.

And the PLUS Analytics and Forecasting team, led by Chris Rudd, Jo-Anne Ragless and Grant Croft, won the ‘Technology and Innovation Award’ for their work to create the new Land Supply Dashboard. The dashboard is a critical new interactive tool which shows land supply and development activity across Greater Adelaide. And while the creation of the dashboard was led by the Analytics and Forecasting team, it involved input and expertise from numerous teams across PLUS.