Overview
- The Productivity Commission released an interim report on Monday, July 27, 2026, diagnosing a ‘thicket’ of overlapping state and local rules that make many otherwise‑zoned developments unbuildable.
- The report urges default permission for three‑storey development on most residential land and concentration of four‑to‑nine‑storey housing near existing transport hubs to boost capacity where demand is highest.
- It recommends removing or loosening prescriptive rules such as minimum room sizes, window and balcony mandates, parking requirements and broad neighbourhood character controls so more varied, lower‑cost homes can be delivered.
- The commission quantified approval costs and delays, finding development approval fees of about $3,900–$22,000, building approval fees of $3,700–$18,000, and examples where approval processes added multiple years and made projects commercially unviable.
- The interim report also calls for tighter tests on developer contributions, narrower heritage protections justified by cost–benefit analysis, and better forward planning of enabling infrastructure with a final report due in March 2027.