NSW is falling behind other states in efforts to build homes

Construction to ease the housing crisis is still lagging behind in NSW, and Premier Chris Minns rightly places much of the blame on the failure of slow-moving councils. addressing housing supply.

In a stunning underachievement, NSW is lagging behind other states in its home-building efforts.

But new changes to NSW’s 50-year-old planning code, including a three-man Housing Delivery Authority with powers to fast-track major developments and bypass councils, aim to lift development out of stagnation.

Minns said the labyrinthine planning system was not only a drag on construction but also hindered the provision of new housing. “It’s been this way for 15 years. I’ve seen the biggest initial resistance to planning reforms come from our own bureaucrats, and they’re not happy if they’re not touching planning decisions as they move through the system,” Minns said. reporterShane Wright and Alexandra Smith.

To prove his point, Minns said NSW was delivering six homes per 1000 people every 12 months, while Victoria was delivering eight homes per 1000 people and Queensland was delivering nine. In the three months to the end of June, just 9638 homes (houses and units) were completed across NSW; This is the lowest quarterly result since 2014. In the 2024-25 financial year, 42,411 homes were completed; this is a 33 per cent decrease from the 63,497 completed in 2019-20. 12,304 homes were completed in Victoria in the June quarter and 55,208 were completed in the last financial year. Almost 50,000 more homes have been built in Victoria than in NSW in the last four years.

Declining construction statistics suggest something is terribly wrong in NSW. But after a stern reminder to councils that “local government is solely an act of the state parliament”, Minns said he did not want to attack councils diplomatically.

He was at pains to point out that some mayors are willing to take risks and work with municipalities to build more housing. “We can’t give the responsibility away anymore. We have the tools we can use to mobilize housing. For the most part we’re getting good results from local councils and we want that to continue. And I actually want to increase the pressure or tension on local mayors,” he said.

But uneven building figures in NSW stand out disturbingly against the successes some other states have achieved in building to ease the housing crisis. They also raise serious questions about Minns’ ability to deliver on its June 2023 commitment to deliver 314,000 homes built over five years as part of the NSW government’s commitment under the National Housing Deal.

Minns also noted that the biggest issues in NSW, whether it be industrial relations, lack of skilled labour, cost of living or family budgets, all relate to housing. Many municipalities would do well to think outside their own boundaries when evaluating building practices.