The Housing Availability and Affordability (Planning and Other Legislation Amendment) Act 2023 (the Act) amends the Planning Act 2016 to improve the planning framework’s response to Queensland's current housing challenges and to improve the operational and process aspects of key planning legislation including the Planning Act and the Economic Development Act 2012.
In order to give effect to the amendments, consequential amendments have also been made to the Planning and Environment Court Act 2016, the Environmental Offsets Act 2014 and the Acquisition of Land Act 1967.
Some of the amendments introduced by the Act have commenced while other amendments will commence on a date to be fixed by proclamation.
Streamlined and affordable housing developments
The Act includes a suite of new planning tools which will facilitate and streamline development necessary to address housing needs. The following amendments have been made to the Planning Act:
- New powers for the Planning Minister to take land or create easements for development infrastructure for planning purposes. These amendments are intended to address the need for State intervention to deliver critical development infrastructure particularly to address issues that arise from fragmentated land ownership which may impact on the delivery and timing of connectivity of housing developments to essential infrastructure.
- The introduction of a "State facilitated development", which can be declared by the Planning Minister if the development will assist in delivering development that is for an urban purpose, is a priority for the State for example, affordable housing and meets the criteria under the Planning Regulation 2017. If the development application is declared to be an application for State facilitated development, it will be assessed by the Chief Executive administering the Planning Act through a streamlined assessment process. A development approval for State facilitated development cannot be appealed in the Planning and Environment Court.
- Where a development application specifically proposes that it will provide for an affordable housing component or where an approval is granted for State facilitated development which requires the provision of affordable housing, the Chief Executive, assessment managers, or referral agencies are permitted to impose a development condition on the development approval for the delivery of the housing component. The power to impose the condition provides greater certainty for the delivery (and implementation) of affordable housing.
Operational amendments to the Planning Act
The amendments address the operational efficiency of the Planning Act to resolve practical issues that have arisen since it came into force on 3 July 2017. These include:
- Planning Minister's new power to direct a local government to amend the planning scheme to ensure the planning scheme is consistent with particular matters under the Planning Regulation or to ensure that the planning scheme protects, or gives effect to, a State interest for which adequate public consultation has previously been carried out.
- A new head of power for a regulation to declare that a material change of use of a premises is temporary accepted development. The new head of power is intended to provide a mechanism through which the Government can respond to urgent and emerging issues by reducing regulatory burden and the need for consultation for development necessary to address these issues.
- Amendments to the applicable event provisions in the Planning Act and the Economic Development Act 2012 to provide greater flexibility to respond to an applicable event as it evolves, improve the operation of temporary use licences, and allow the Chief Executive to respond to issues or concerns with temporary use licences once they are approved.
- Amendments relevant to the framework applicable to heritage places under the Queensland Heritage Act 1992 to remove duplicate assessment relating to a Queensland Heritage Place that is also a local heritage place (dual listed heritage place).
Flexibility for registered premises under the urban encroachment framework
The Act amends the Planning Act to modernize the existing urban encroachment framework by reducing the regulatory burden associated with the registration process with a view to increasing certainty for business operating within the framework. These include a process which allow for the amendment of the registration of a premises, simplified renewal of an existing registration and an exemption from re-registration where a registered premises obtains a new or amended development approval or environmental authority.
Modernisation of development assessment in Development Control Plan areas
The Act amends the Planning Act by including provisions to modernise the development assessment system applicable to developments occurring within areas under Development Control Plans (DCP) for the Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Moreton Bay Regional Council and Ipswich City Council. Fundamentally, a development application made after commencement of the Act for development on premises to which a development control plan applies must be made, assessed, decided and otherwise dealt with as a development application under the Planning Act.
The amendments are considered necessary to allow for the application of the contemporary development assessment process under the Planning Act to DCP areas, while ensuring the DCPs remain in effect, continue to categorise development and set assessment benchmarks.