Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Scott Farlow, has pointed to the recent drop in Development Applications as further proof that the NSW Government needs to defer the introduction of increased BASIX standards for twelve months, in line with other States, to support the building of more homes in NSW.
“From May to June it is taking longer for fewer development applications to be submitted, lodged and determined, which is a worrying development for a Government that has committed to build 314,000 homes over the next five years,” Mr Farlow said.
| May 2023 | June 2023 | Change | |
| DAs submitted | 5,603 | 5,262 | -6.1% |
| DAs lodged | 4,329 | 4,147 | -4.2% |
| DAs determined | 4,283 | 3,904 | -8.8% |
| Average time to determine | 112 | 115 | 2.7% |
Source: NSW Planning Performance Dashboard, 24/7/2023
“In the middle of a housing crisis, on every metric, we are seeing performance in our planning system declining and the last thing NSW needs is a new measure that could decrease housing supply.
“These figures should give the Government cause for concern and lead them to heed the Opposition’s and industry’s calls to defer the introduction of the increased BASIX standards on 1 October by twelve months, in line with other States.”
“The Government already imposed a tax of up to $12,000 on new homes across Sydney, the Central Coast, the Lower Hunter and Wollongong and scrapped the Coalition’s popular First-Home buyer choice program – now is not the time to be imposing additional costs on new homes.”
“The construction industry has seen costs escalate by more than 12% in the last year, if these changes are implemented on 1 October, purchasers will be footing additional bills that they simply can’t afford and it could have an impact on supply.”
“Every cost in construction is passed on to the purchaser and threaten the feasibility of new projects, especially with the largest interest rate rises in a decade.”
“If the Government is serious about delivering 314,000 new homes over the next five years, they need to defer the implementation of BASIX,” Mr Farlow said.