HDA speeds up approvals amid high developer interest
New South Wales’s Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) has recommended 12 housing projects for approval under its State Significant Development (SSD) pathway, potentially unlocking 6,855 new homes.
Five projects already classified as SSD will also continue under existing processes, while eight applications were not recommended for fast-track approval. Three proposals were deferred for further review.
The recommendations emerged from the HDA’s first meeting on February 7, where it assessed 28 expressions of interest (EOIs) against established criteria. The authority, composed of senior government officials, including Premier’s department secretary Simon Draper, planning secretary Kiersten Fishburn, and Infrastructure NSW chief executive Tom Gellibrand, aims to accelerate housing supply by streamlining approvals.
Interest in the new process has been strong, with over 100 EOIs submitted, representing more than 100,000 proposed homes. In response, the HDA has doubled its meeting frequency from monthly to fortnightly to process applications more quickly. The HDA’s next meeting is expected to evaluate additional EOIs as it works to fast-track housing development across New South Wales.
The new NSW Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) has been established and the link to the HDA is below. The steps on how this all works is also attached.
— Planning Portal Lodgements (@planning_portal) December 20, 2024
There will be EOI for sites lodged using an online form and the approval will be via a SSD pathway🏘️https://t.co/ZZTpWpgg6m pic.twitter.com/uD1ay5tB2b
Urban Taskforce Australia chief executive Tom Forrest (pictured) welcomed the swift assessments and the transparency of the process.
“Urban Taskforce congratulates the State Significant Development team for their rapid assessment of this first stage of the new planning pathway,” Forrest said. “The publication of the details of each application is also very welcome. The transparency of this process is critical to ensuring the respect of the public and stakeholders,” Forrest said.
He added that the high level of interest highlights long-standing inefficiencies in the planning system.
“The huge support for this new process highlights just how cumbersome the planning framework had become,” Forrest said. “Investors, financiers, developers and builders had been sitting on this massive number of development opportunities, just waiting for a planning system that could give them a chance.”
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