The NSW Government has adopted all recommendations of the Regional Housing Taskforce as part of a comprehensive response to improve housing supply and affordability in the regions.
The package will speed up the delivery of essential infrastructure and streamline planning to unlock thousands of homes across regional NSW, including housing for key workers and Aboriginal families.
Initiatives
Regional NSW’s housing target is 55,000 new homes. The regional target aligns with expected dwelling demand and growth for new homes..
Regional NSW is considered areas outside of Greater Sydney, Illawarra-Shoalhaven, Central Coast, Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle.
We expect the majority of new homes to be built in high-growth regional areas with existing amenities, infrastructure and services.
We will work with the Department of Regional NSW to support the delivery of new homes. Together we have a common goal to make regional NSW an even better place to live, work, play and invest in.
The package will help tackle the housing shortage for key workers such as teachers, police and health professionals in regional NSW. The package provides funding over four years to build 271 houses. Regional communities will be prioritised based on need.
The package provides funding over 4 years to support the delivery of around 270 homes, both existing and through new construction. Regional communities will be prioritised based on need.
A strategy will be developed that builds on the work the NSW Government has delivered to address key worker housing challenges in regional communities. The strategy will lead to increased community safety and better education and regional health outcomes. It will also free up properties in the mainstream rental market.
Funding allocation
$174m in total allocated to Department of Regional NSW
Delivery
The Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC), in partnership with the Department of Regional NSW, will deliver:
- Approximately 271 additional houses for teachers and NSW Police force delivered over 4 years.
- A whole-of-government key worker housing model review.
Who will benefit
Regional NSW communities will benefit from more teachers and police officers coming to their community
Teachers and police officers who want to work in rural, regional and remote areas will benefit from good quality housing
The Department of Education and the NSW Police Force will benefit from having appropriate housing for their employees
Key benefits
- Reduction in housing costs for key workers
- Reduction in key worker commuting costs
- Social benefits of having more teachers and police in regional communities
Teachers:
- Improved outcomes for students, the community and the teachers themselves
- Lifetime productivity benefits for students from reduced overcrowding
- Improved housing outcomes will help attract teachers to regional and remote areas of NSW
Police:
- Reduction in crime from having additional police in regional NSW
Delivering on the recommendations of the Regional Housing Taskforce, the Regional Housing Development program will focus on removing planning barriers and increasing coordination to facilitate the delivery of 127,000 homes for regional NSW in the next 10 years.
Funding allocation
$33.78m over 4 years
Delivery
Key policy changes to deliver 127,000 homes across regional communities over the next 10 years.
- Roll out of an Urban Development Program to ensure supply of development-ready land for new homes.
- Benchmark targets for housing supply and serviced land in regional NSW.
- Monitoring of key housing performance indicators via digital data platforms.
- Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund to prioritise upfront planning.
- Removing the barriers to diverse and affordable regional housing through policy reform.
Who will benefit
The program strengthens the future supply of housing in regional NSW. It will benefit:
- regional communities, with more homes to own or rent
- regional councils to deliver more housing opportunities
- housing developers who can invest in regional NSW with more certainty.
Key milestones
- December 2022: Round 1 of Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund grant recipients announced.
- December 2023: Publish the guide for UDP implementation in Regional NSW.
- Quarter 2 2023: Publish Regional Housing Pipeline Assessment methodology to audit the amount of development ready land and identify infrastructure needs.
- June 2023: Expanded Urban Development Program to first tranche of high-growth regional areas.
- June 2023: Implementation of the Housing Evidence Centre stage 2.
- June 2024 - 2026: Further expansion of the Urban Development Program to more high-growth regional areas and annual rounds of Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund.
Key benefits
- Supply of more development-ready land for housing.
- Improved coordination of infrastructure to bolster housing supply.
- Strategic approach to planning for housing across regional councils.
- Increased regional housing supply.
- Informed decision making using improved regional housing data.
- The ability to measure the performance of the planning system and the housing pipeline, from rezoning, servicing and approvals to home completions.
$265 million funding to 15 high-growth regional councils for the faster delivery of home-enabling infrastructure projects like roads and stormwater drainage to pave the way for more homes to be built sooner.
Find out more at Accelerated Infrastructure Fund.
