Business Council of Australia demands transparency from local governments to speed up residential approvals

In a bid to meet Australia’s soaring appetite for new homes, Business Council chief executive Bran Black said tough decisions were needed to address the country’s housing supply crisis.

Among the recommendations the council will call for to meet the 1.2 million national housing target are report cards for councils on approvals, and the ability for State Governments to intervene and remove planning authority from poor-performing local governments.

“We have a housing supply crisis in Australia and we need to turbo-charge the assessment and approval process so we get more homes built faster,” Mr Black said.

“This supply crisis, driven by a shortfall, means demand for limited houses further pushes up prices and rents, driving higher inflation which hurts all Australians.

“Plain and simple, we need more supply, and we want to work with local and state governments to speed up their housing decisions, so builders can get on with the job of delivering places for people to live.”

Mr Black said forcing councils to be transparent would give insight to authorities over which councils needed more support to approve more houses.

“I hear from members that some councils are highly professional, while others are unresponsive and can take months to make a decision, in some cases running down the clock because they can,” Mr Black said.

“State governments are best able to balance local feedback with the broader economic and policy priorities faced by the community around the need for housing.”