Regional Housing Taskforce

Regional Cities New South Wales (RCNSW) made a submission to the New South Wales Regional Housing Taskforce, advocating for a range a new policy measures to overcome the complex and persistent housing shortage in regional NSW.

A range of factors, including regional migration driven by the COVID pandemic, have transformed the demographics of regional cities.  This has had a significant impact on local accommodation, leading to a critical mismatch between housing supply and demand.

RCNSW made a number of recommendations to the State Government to alleviate these pressures including:

1.       Defer introduction of new regulations until the current shortage is more appropriately managed;

2.       Consider introducing rezoning timeframes to prevent landbanking;

3.       Audit regional crown land to assess suitability for affordable housing projects; and

4.       Assist local councils with resourcing to help the manage the backlog of development approvals.