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Residential Building Planning Policy And the Australian Federal Government Election 2010

The Housing Industry Association of Australia approached all major political parties and asked the hard questions regarding critical policy issues. Find out about Planning Assessment issues …

What is the policy position taken by each major party including the Australian Labor Party, The Liberal National Coalition and The Greens.

Planning Assessments 

Would you support the introduction of a planning and building approval process whereby single dwellings and low scale residential developments require a single approval to allow construction on residential land? If so, how would you see the Commonwealth facilitating such a response?

Labor -

The Federal Labor Government has successfully achieved agreement through the Council of Australian Governments to an increase in the use of code-based development assessments, as well as the collection of better data to enable performance measures to be applied around the length of development assessment times.

The Government has also supported practical reforms such as introduction of electronic development assessment in more local government areas. The Federal Labor Government has committed $30 million to accelerate the use of eDA in high growth councils, including $3.6 million in funds to progress the electronic Development Assessment Interoperability Specification (eDAIS). This project seeks to develop and implement a national IT specification that will enable different computer systems to interact and exchange information, to enable seamless electronic processing of Development Applications.

A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will continue the process of reform, working with the States and Territories, councils, industry and the community to ensure that more high quality affordable houses are built.

Coalition -

Ultimately, the States and Territories are responsible for building and planning regulations within their jurisdictions. But the Coalition will help State and Territories to identify best practices in planning policy. And we will work through the existing COAG framework to ensure a greater consistency among State and Territory planning and approval regulations. We cannot commit to establishing a national building codes administration at this time.

Greens -

No response provided

What measures would you support and advance to deliver more coherent strategic planning of Australia’s major metropolitan and regional cities that ensures States and Territories are able to adequately cater for future population growth and ensure timely and affordable housing supply?

Labor -

 The Government has begun the job of improving planning and land supply, neglected under the former Coalition Government, primarily through COAG. COAG has agreed that a working party will report back, via the Ministerial Council for Federal Financial Relations, on the housing supply pipeline. This work includes the potential to reform land aggregation, zoning and planning processes.

The Federal Labor Government has required State and Territory Governments to develop strategic plans for our capital cities that will align plans for jobs growth, new housing and transport infrastructure. National objectives and criteria for future strategic planning of capital cities have been agreed, and State and Territory Governments have committed to develop city plans that meet the criteria by 1 January 2012. The Government has made it clear that it will not be shy about tying future Commonwealth funding to those city plans.

The Major Cities Unit set up by the Federal Labor Government also produced the State of Australian Cities Report 2010, which is the most comprehensive document of its kind ever produced. The report brings together in one place a diverse range of data about how productive, sustainable and liveable our cities are, as well as how they match up against the rest of the world.

In addition to the appointment of a Minister for Sustainable Population, the Government also recently announced Building Better Regional Cities, a new $200 million program that will help build more affordable homes so that Australia can grow sustainably.

The initiative will ensure participating councils are given grants of up to $15 million each, to invest in local infrastructure projects that support new housing developments. These could include connecting roads, extensions to drains and sewerage pipes, parks and community centres.

Up to 15,000 new homes for working families will be built in regional cities over the next three years under this initiative.

Forty-six cities will be invited to apply for the program, with around 15 expected to be successful. As a guide, we would expect to see about 1,000 new homes being built in a city receiving $15 million.

Federal Labor understands that across Australia there are many regional cities with jobs and population growth that require more houses to meet their needs.

Coalition -

Ultimately, the States and Territories are responsible for building and planning regulations within their jurisdictions. But the Coalition will help State and Territories to identify best practices in planning policy. And we will work through the existing COAG framework to ensure a greater consistency among State and Territory planning and approval regulations. We cannot commit to establishing a national building codes administration at this time.

Greens -

No response provided

Will you commit to establishing a national building codes’ administration as an independent and properly resourced statutory authority?

Labor -

Through COAG, governments have agreed to adopt a nationally-consistent approach to on site building and plumbing regulation through consolidation of those regulations into a National Construction Code (NCC) to be adopted by States and Territories by October 2012. This project is one of 27 deregulation priorities under the National Partnership Agreement to Deliver a Seamless National Economy. The first stage of the project is for the Australian Building Codes Board to consolidate building and plumbing regulations into an NCC by December 2010. The plumbing provisions are currently being reviewed and rewritten in a format to align with building provisions.

Work is also underway on developing an Inter-Governmental Agreement to provide for the governance and funding arrangements for a body to administer the NCC, to be in place by June 2011. Taxation and Contracting

Coalition -

We cannot commit to establishing a national building codes administration at this time

Greens -

No response provided

Source: HIA Media Release

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