14 FEBRUARY 2025

In this Edition...

1. First round of HDA decisions on housing EOIs expected soon

2. What is an essential worker and who pays for their housing?

3. New poll – housing at the forefront of voters’ minds (again)

...and much, much more.

4. Industry holds its breadth over rate cut
5. Marrickville madness – what is creativity?
6. Camperdown dive site – another win for Urban Taskforce and commonsense
7. Quote of the week - Peter Tulip, Chief Economist Centre for Independent Studies 
8. Market and affordable housing for Edgecliff
9. More designs for the NSW Pattern Book
10. Coronation delivers emergency housing for families in need
11.Helping HELP debt holders into a home a positive move
12.Members in the news

1. First round of HDA decisions on housing EOIs expected soon

Late last month Planning Minister Paul Scully confirmed that 100 expressions of interest had been received by the Housing Delivery Authority by the cut-off date for its first deliberative meeting held last Friday. The number of EOIs is known to have grown well above that since.

Late last week the HDA considered the first batch of EOIs. The interest has been so great that the frequency of HDA meetings has increased from being a monthly meeting process to a fortnightly one. The cadence of these meetings will vary to meet demand.

Once announced, the Government needs to ensure that EOI’s that are accepted into the HDA streamlined assessment process are moved as quickly as possible. Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) must be issued so detailed applications can be submitted.

All this requires resourcing.

We understand that as we go to publication, DPHI is actively recruiting for planners to meet the expected workloads. The Government not only needs to monitor this critical part of the HDA pipeline, but also ensure staff are fully signed up to the Government’s priority of supply, supply, supply.

This will result in the State Significant Development Assessment team being considerably bolstered.

All eyes are now on the HDA.  How many new homes will be assessed through this promising pathway? Will the early momentum be maintained? For the sake of those suffering from rent and mortgage stress, we hope so.

2. What is an essential worker and who pays for their housing?

Urban Taskforce CEO Tom Forrest presented before the Parliamentary Inquiry investigating essential worker housing last Friday. 

Tom started off by challenging the Committee as to who is an essential worker. Nurses, police, teachers are always in the running – but where do cleaners fit into the picture. They provide essential services as well.

The Government has a limited bucket of money, and allotting housing based on your degree of “essentialness” is fraught with challenges. There will be clearly winners and losers.

Tom explained to the Parliamentary Committee that solutions to provide more affordable housing and more housing choice did not have to involve throwing ridiculous amounts of money at the problem (money which is not there anyway), but was best solved in terms using planning laws to help solve the problem.

Providing significant uplift incentives (like the successful infill affordable housing bonuses) as well as removing the more egregious and prescriptive aspects of red tape, like relaxing the NSW Apartment Design Guidelines.

There are solutions to affordable housing, and they can be delivered by the market at no cost to Government. It’s just the obsession of some planners with dictating to others how they should live their lives while protecting the interests of privileged incumbent residents (we call them NIMBYs) that has held us back.

Tom said that the private sector had to deal with labour shortages in all sectors by paying workers needed in particular locations more.

In the AFL, the Swans and the Giants get an allowance on their salary cap to assist them pay for the higher cost of living in Sydney. This allowance has helped attract Plugger Lockett, Jesse Hogan, Barry Hall, Lance Franklin and Stephen Coniglio to Sydney.  They are no more heroes than the nurses on our front line currently forced to travel over an hour after long and stressful shifts at all hours of the day to care for us all.

What is different with the public sector? The housing supply crisis has been created by Government, they need to deal with the cost of policy failure. Allowances for working in less desirable locations are commonplace – they exist across the State.

Treasurer Mookhey was reportedly delighted with that suggestion.

But the alternative is to ease planning restrictions and provide incentives, to enable the private sector to do the job at no cost to taxpayers.

*Please note, the below link may be paywall protected

Ultimately, the essential worker housing debate is a microcosm of a broader debate about housing and how we provide affordable options throughout the community. It is an issue carved from the same rock as the “city with no grandchildren” line that has shaped much of the commentary and analysis from the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission.

Deeply ingrained problems have been created by well-meaning but economically illiterate planning bureaucrats, and are only now being over-ridden by the new HDA.

We have a sophisticated, mature private sector with the capacity to lift housing supply if the regulatory conditions are right – with solutions that will alleviate housing stress at little or no cost to the Government or the taxpayer.

We think it’s a no brainer!

3. New poll – housing at the forefront of voters’ minds (again)

With the Federal election imminent, a new poll conducted by Redbridge shows that the votes of 73% of the population would be swayed by the issue of housing affordability.

As Urban Taskforce has said many, many times – housing affordability is not just an issue for young people or those at the economic margins, but an issue of concern for most Australians – parents or grandparents who may well be sitting pretty when it comes to property, but are now worried about housing affordability and access to housing for their kids and grandkids.

Government and Opposition cannot sit back idly on this matter. The Opposition have a short list of solutions, but they are gaining traction. The Government is finding out that simply making announcements like the Housing Accord, without backing that up with incentive payments and infrastructure support, doesn’t get you very far.

At a Commonwealth level, it means seriously looking at housing enabling infrastructure, clearing the obstacles that all too often hold back greenfield and infill housing.

The piecemeal approach so far is not cutting the mustard.

This is why our pre-Commonwealth Budget submission calls on the Federal Government to deliver $24 billion in housing enabling infrastructure to help state and local governments meet housing targets flowing from the National Housing Accord. This is the number 1 policy issue on people’s minds and its time the Commonwealth dipped into its budget surpluses and helped out.

The Urban Taskforce policy would give the states and councils the incentive to approve more housing, and more supply will place downward pressure on housing and open up more housing options for buyers and renters alike.

The States need a lot more than a hope and a prayer from Canberra to drive housing supply.

4. Industry holds its breadth over rate cut

Urban Taskforce CEO was interviewed by Sky News last weekend on the hopes for a rate cut next week.

The interview went on to discuss the macroeconomic and demographic trends underpinning the need for higher density and more housing in cities like Sydney.

Tom said that policy makers needed to face the consequences of an ageing population and the need for population inflows to maintain the tax base to pay for the growing needs of an ageing society:

*Please note the below link may be paywall protected

5. Marrickville madness – what is creativity?

Inner West Council have excelled themselves with a prize winning case for prescriptive madness embedded in their local planning controls.

Exhibit A – Inner West Council’s efforts to block a proposal for a hair and beauty salon across from Marrickville metro as it was not satisfied that the “development will be used for creative purposes”.

Fortunately, the Land and Environment Court took a more commonsense view, with Commissioner Gray stating:

The Commissioner found in favour of the hairdresser - upholding the aesthetic and creative underpinnings of tonsorial pursuits!

The real issue here is the prescriptive, (some would say snobbish, others would say Stalinist) approach of councils like Inner West in deciding what is “creative” and what is not – to the point that they are willing to go to Court to uphold their own world view.

Planning has degenerated disastrously from the days where it was about separating say heavy and polluting industries from residential development. In the case of the Inner West Council, it has become indulgently obsessed with splitting hairs around what is and what is not “creativity”. Put a broom through them.

Arbitrarily picking winners and losers through the planning system. Madness indeed – but sadly, all too common!

6. Camperdown Westconnex dive site – another win for Urban Taskforce and commonsense

When the NSW Government made an announcement last year over the former WestConnex dive site at Camperdown, we were frankly unimpressed.

A prime Government owned site, walking distance from Sydney University and the RPA, and 2 km from Central, right-on Parramatta Road, with an underwhelming vision of 100 homes was set for a ridiculously low density with an approximate floor space ration of 0.67: 1.

Urban Living Network, 12 July 2024

Were they trying to recreate the vibe of old Sydney Town????

Pleasingly, Paul Scully, Rose Jackson and Steve Kamper were listening and went back to the drawing board. This week, they came up with a revised proposal which now entails:

• at least 200 build-to-rent units offered to essential workers (begging the question who gets offered subsidised housing)
• approximately 300 additional units, including private units and a proportion of affordable rental housing
• ground-floor retail or commercial, landscaped outdoor spaces and new pedestrian links, enhancing the neighbourhood’s amenity and vibrancy.

This is a more positive approach to these rare sites.

Our hope is that the Minns Government will maintain momentum and look at other legacy sites from Westconnex – such as the sites around Ashfield/Haberfield end of Westconnex.

Land acquired for Westconnex still sitting idle 

7. Quote of the week

Peter Tulip has once again hit the nail on its head in terms of the lack of action from the Commonwealth in not just helping solve the housing supply crisis, but in doing so help meet the National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes they themselves established in the first place …

7:30, ABC TV

8. Market and affordable housing for Edgecliff

Utilising the Minns Government’s infill affordable housing the project One Darling Point Road, responds to this priority via the proposed scheme which will see the delivery of a new 17-storey residential building with 62 new residential units with around including circa 15 per cent (by GFA) affordable housing apartments to the Woollahara LGA in addition to retail and commercial spaces.

The development will:

• Boost the delivery of high-quality market and affordable housing in a highly accessible location close to jobs, infrastructure and education, ultimately contributing to NSW’s affordable housing targets under the National Housing Accord 2022
• Provide a diverse supply of dwellings, ranging from one bedroom units to four bedroom apartments to meet the housing and social needs of future residents in a connected location given the proximity of the site to Edgecliff train station
• Reduce pressure on nearby lower density residential areas to deliver housing

It is also worth noting that the proposed design:

• Respects the site’s heritage elements, Connecting with Country frameworks and neighbourhood character
• Adds vibrancy and community through diverse housing, commercial and retail spaces delivering additional quality offerings for local businesses & residents
• Improves the interaction between the site and the public domain through the activation of the ground plane, increased landscaping and the provision of a through-site link that connects New South Head Road to Darling Point Road
• Reinvests funds, through developer contributions to Council, into local infrastructure to support the precinct’s economic importance and enhance its role as a community hub and focus for employment, shopping, and living
• Retains the existing two storey heritage item at 136 New South Head Road and will restore and fit-out the heritage item to create a vibrant retail offering, preserving the site’s rich history

A great project that will revitalise a well-connected but tired part of Sydney that needs to lift its game when it comes to housing supply.

9. More designs for the NSW Pattern Book

Just like a new edition of the IKEA catalogue, Urban Taskforce excitedly read the latest update in the NSW Pattern Book (can I get that in duck-egg blue or does it only come in cypress pine?).

The second tranche includes 13 “brand new” designs - 6 designs for terraces, semi-detached dual occupancy and manor houses or low-rise apartment buildings will be produced alongside six designs for mid-rise residential flat buildings.

Additionally, one landscape design practice has been commissioned to develop design guidance for the low-rise and mid-rise patterns, for both private and shared open spaces.

10. Coronation delivers emergency housing for families in need

Coronation’s Aras Labutis was joined by Housing Minister Rose Jackson and Minister for Women, Jodie Harrison, for the announcement

Valued member of the Urban Taskforce, Coronation Property Group has partnered with Habitat for Humanity Australia to transform a dilapidated, vacant house in St Peters into temporary accommodation for two families in need.

The refurbishment is a joint effort between Coronation and Habitat for Humanity Australia’s Habitat Women Program - a 12-week training initiative which empowers women to enter the construction and maintenance industries. Through this program, participants gain hands-on skills in construction, boosting both their confidence and employability.

A team of more than 10 women worked together with Coronation’s construction team on the vacant house which has been disused for two years. The women are using their newly learnt skills to refurbish the house, transforming it into meanwhile use transitional accommodation for low-income women in need.

Managed by Habitat for Humanity Australia, the refurbished property is providing a safe haven for a single mother and her child, who are currently being supported by the Aboriginal Women & Children’s Crisis Service (AWCCS). To date, there have been numerous challenges finding suitable affordable accommodation for the family.

A worthy cause and an equally worthy response from Coronation.

11. Helping HELP debt holders into a home a positive move

Restrictions of lending for housing have tightened over the last decade or so, with little impact on mortgage defaults. We are trying to address a problem that really is not there. 

The intervention this week of the Federal Government, following prudent rules of risk-based regulation setting, is encouraging and shows the positive impacts that can be made without costing the taxpayers a cent.

The Albanese Government has also asked APRA to update and clarify its regulatory guidance to help unlock the construction of more units.

Some lenders have interpreted advice issued by APRA in 2017, that finance for construction of new unit blocks should depend on all properties being pre-sold. Lenders have indicated this is a barrier to financing. The interpretation of this guidance as “100% pre-sales" by some lenders has limited housing supply, as smaller developers often don’t have the capital to finance the start of construction without support from the banks.

Meanwhile the NSW Minister for Customer Service, Jihad Dib, is adding more risk to housing supply with thought bubbles over changes to off-the-plan contracts.

More commonsense please!

Members in the news

*Please note these articles may be paywall protected

“…Head of Development at Landmark Joseph Scuderi said they were raising the bar for affordable living in Australia ...read more... 

To read more, click here:                    The Daily Telegraph, 7 February

"…Leading Australian property developer and builder, Urban Property Group has announced the Development Application (DA) for its new multi-stage residential project in Edmonson Park has been approved.​​​​..read more...

To read more, click here:                       Architecture & Design, 11 February

"…Property behemoth Lendlease has unveiled its latest plans for its first luxury apartment project outside Sydney’s CBD.​​​​..read more...

To read more, click here:                      AFR, 12 February

"… Meanwhile, on the Lower North Shore, LFD Chatswood Unit Trust is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement for a project at 5-9 Gordon Avenue in the Willoughby Council LGA.​​​​..read more...

To read more, click here:                       The Urban Developer, 12 February

"…Property group Investa has unveiled a partnership with The Salvation Army to develop a $230m studio living project near Sydney’s Hyde Park that will become the first of a series of the new-style complexes…​read more...

To read more, click here:                       The Daily Telegraph, 12 February

"…Traders in Purple, Anglican Church file plans for second joint project...​read more...

To read more, click here:                       The Urban Developer, 13 February

"…Plans prepared by Ethos Urban outline a bi-level subterranean basement providing 106 parking spaces—44 for residential use and 62 for retail.​​​​..read more...

To read more, click here:                       The Urban Developer, 13 February

"…Planning documents, prepared by Willowtree Planning, detail a five-storey project, designed by Smart Design Studio, of seven premium apartments with basement parking for 16 vehicles.​​​​..read more...

To read more, click here:                       The Urban Developer, 13 February