Several councils throughout New South Wales have welcomed the NSW Government’s planning reforms, which could deliver over 170,000 more well-located, well-designed and well-built homes throughout the Sydney, the Illawarra, Hunter and Central Coast areas.

Announced in December last year, the Transport Oriented Development State Environmental Planning Policy (TOD SEPP) identified 31 stations across 13 local government areas around which new housing will be located within 400 metres of the station.

Twelve of the 13 local government areas have been working with the Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure to develop housing plans that deliver greater or equal housing numbers than would be required by the original TOD SEPP. While welcoming the opportunity to develop housing plans for existing TOD sites, several councils sought more TOD sites to be added within their local area.

Consequently, the NSW Government has added six more stations to the 31 TOD SEPP locations nominated in December. The six new stations are Cardiff, Cockle Creek, Belmore, Lakemba, Punchbowl and Woy Woy.

The NSW Government will also work with Wollongong Council to further consider Coniston and Unanderra as additional stations, once further analysis of the water and wastewater capacity is fully understood. The Government will also continue to work with Inner West Council on their nominated sites for social housing.

A majority of TOD SEPP sites will be finalised from April 2024, with over three-quarters of sites finalised by the end of 2024. 

This master planning and detailed work means that local housing plans will be developed with the councils of Bayside, Burwood, Canada Bay, Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Coast, Cumberland, Georges River, Inner West, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Penrith, and Wollongong.

Housing is the single largest cost of living issue facing the people of NSW. A recent Productivity Commission report found that between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained, and fewer than 20% of new dwellings were built within 10km of the CBD.

“The NSW Government is absolutely committed to confronting the housing crisis head on. For too long housing has been put in the too hard basket,” Premier of NSW Chris Minns says.

“If we don’t build more houses, young people will up and leave because they can’t afford a home in NSW. And if we lose our young people, we lose our future. I want to thank the Mayors and Councils for working collaboratively with the Government. Ensuring we have homes for young people across our state is a shared responsibility.”

Minister for Planning and Public Space Paul Scully says, “I applaud the councils that have worked collaboratively with my department, which has resulted in a TOD policy that is tailored to each location and community.”

“I encourage others to sit down and help us address the housing crisis by working together to find well located housing across the State for young people, essential workers and families who desperately need to access the housing market.

"The TOD program is part of the biggest planning reforms this state has ever seen and will be a critical tool in meeting the growing demand for housing and improving affordability, especially for young people and families.”

Image: NSW Gov't