Urbis has made a submission to the Productivity Commission for the Housing Supply Regulation – Interim Report.
The Interim Report provides a valuable contribution to the national housing debate by recognising that better housing outcomes depend not only on the identification of additional land or the setting of housing targets, but also on the effectiveness of the planning, infrastructure and regulatory systems that support delivery.
Our submission is structured around the three primary themes explored in the Interim Report:
Unlocking more homes through better land-use regulation: Effective planning reform requires a more complete understanding of housing demand, capacity and delivery, with consistent measurement and reporting to better target housing outcomes. Residential design standards are needed to protect the quality of new homes, but there are opportunities to reduce complexity, improve consistency, and provide greater certainty.
Reducing the burden of approvals: A stronger ‘build’ mindset requires housing supply objectives to be embedded across government decision-making, with regulators considering housing impacts and less burdensome policy alternatives. Streamlined, targeted approval processes and transparent performance reporting can improve accountability and help accelerate housing delivery.
Delivering housing-enabling infrastructure: Housing delivery depends as much on timely infrastructure funding and provision as it does on planning reform, making early infrastructure planning critical before land is rezoned. A nationally consistent approach to infrastructure planning and funding would improve transparency, provide greater funding certainty, and help bring serviced land to market more efficiently.
Improving housing supply requires a coordinated approach that goes beyond planning reform, combining strategic planning, streamlined regulation, performance accountability, and timely infrastructure delivery. A holistic approach is more likely to increase housing supply, affordability and productivity while supporting commercially feasible development.
Read our full submission here.
The Commission is due to submit its final report to the Australian Government in March 2027.
