The NSW Government is focused on getting the balance right between building new homes and protecting the character of communities.  It doesn’t have to be an either-or choice.

Our planning reforms will help to deliver more well-located, well-designed and well-built homes.

As the Government has said repeatedly, councils will still retain their ability to assess and modify developments based on a range of factors including overshadowing, sunlight, privacy, traffic and more.

The NSW Government’s housing reforms encourage a greater variety of housing options and more vibrant communities, something that young people, families and essential workers need if they are to find somewhere to live that doesn’t involve hours of travel.

Inner West Council has said publicly that it wants to increase housing. They’ve said they won’t reject rezonings outright and will be constructive.

This is a great opportunity to work together and reach that objective.

This is more important now when just last month the Inner West Council area was reported to have the largest increase in homelessness numbers in the entire state of NSW.

The reforms simply require councils to consider developments they have previously ruled out.  

Many councils have just said no to terraces, dual occupancies and midrise apartment blocks by not even allowing them to be considered. The reforms require councils to consider these housing types.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said: 

“We can’t afford to take a do-nothing approach – because it means we’ll continue the problems of the last decade where young people are up and leaving because they can’t afford to buy or rent a home in Sydney.

“It’s wrong to suggest that the Government wants a one size fits all approach to housing. In fact, we want greater diversity.

“We have a whole generation of people who can't afford to rent or buy a home in NSW. Just because you were born this century shouldn’t mean you’re locked out of renting or buying in Sydney.

“The NSW Productivity Commission recently found that between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained. 35,000 came to Sydney, but 70,000 left and that is not how you build or sustain a city or a society.”