The Victorian Government has correctly identified the state's labyrinthine planning system as the key contributor to restricted housing supply and ballooning prices.
By clearing the VCAT backlog and enabling greater certainty through a streamlined system that incentivises affordable housing outcomes, the Government will ensure the delivery of market and non-market housing side-by-side.
The Victorian Housing Statement is proof that governments can strike the right balance in delivering planning reforms and big public and social housing investment.
The Government today pledged to boost housing supply and make homes more affordable, while also improving outcomes for people who live in those homes, through better design standards, greater warranties and protections for buyers, and stronger rights for renters.
Other reforms, such as granny flat permit exemptions and expanding Future Homes may seem minor—but these all add up and will deliver much more supply to make homes more affordable for all Victorians.
The focus on activity centres is a key part of the reforms outlined in the housing statement. We welcome the Government's efforts to deliver more housing in the places where people want to live.
The Government now has the exciting opportunity to expand their priority precincts definition to deliver more homes across the inner-city.
YIMBY Melbourne calls for the full extent of Melbourne's iconic train and tram network to be leveraged for new housing supply connected to amenity and community.
To create soft density and a city that is vibrant, liveable, and productive from corner to corner, beyond just designated patches, the Andrews Government should consider broad zoning reform that enables more activity in more places.
YIMBY Melbourne will be releasing a detailed 'Missing Middle' report on transit-oriented development and zoning reform in the coming weeks.
"By creating a more permissive planning system, the Andrews Government is saying 'yes in my backyard', and recognising the desperate need to build more homes where people want to live.
“Governments can walk and chew gum. The Victorian Government is getting on with the job of boosting housing supply while at the same time improving housing quality and security.
"The government must work to expand housing supply not just in a few precincts, but across the full existing transit network.
"We look forward to engaging with the Government to ensure these once-in-a-lifetime reforms are as effective as possible. We must ensure Victorian policy creates space for the enormous increase in housing supply needed to overcome the housing crisis."
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