Australia to miss housing target without planning reform

The Productivity Commission warns that Australia will miss its target of building over one million new homes by 2029 unless planning approvals and development restrictions are reformed. Commission Chair Danielle Wood identifies upzoning as a top priority, which involves shifting planning rules to allow gentle density developments of up to three storeys, including townhouses and low-rise apartment blocks in areas where people want to live. The report highlights that regulatory complexity, with some subdivisions requiring 30 approvals and 60 attached documents, is making housing more expensive and slower to build, while Auckland's upzoning reforms a decade ago resulted in rents and prices 20% lower than they would have otherwise been.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.