There is a significant economic, job and affordability upside to making small changes, or 'quick wins', to the NSW planning system.
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That's according to new research released by the Property Council of Australia.
The research, conducted by Urbis, indicates that 'quick wins' such as revisiting the process for rezonings, delivering diverse housing more easily and calculating development contributions can benefit the state economy, drive down the cost of homes and create jobs.
"The research demonstrates how practical, achievable changes to the planning system will be able to deliver a big upside for economic growth, jobs and housing affordability across NSW," Property Council Illawarra regional director Michelle Guido said.
"Changes such as improving the process for rezonings, encouraging more diverse housing and implementing complying development including the medium density housing code across the Illawarra-Shoalhaven region can deliver a big economic uplift, as well as more jobs."
Some of the research key findings for NSW include:
*By calculating contributions and getting better oversight of their impact - a $194m increase in gross state product (GSP) per year and 1310 additional jobs.
*By improving the process for rezonings - a $2.37 b uplift in GSP per year and 16,701 additional jobs.
*By implementing complying development including the medium density housing code - a $213m in GSP uplift and 1450 additional jobs.
*By finalising our state planning strategies - $3.96b uplift in GSP, 26,800 additional jobs, and increased labour productivity contributing $95 million each year.
*By incorporating technology into our planning system - a $17m in GSP uplift each year and cutting assessment timeframes by up to one week per dwelling.
"Ensuring our planning system is able to deliver housing, office buildings, amenities, shopping centres and infrastructure for our growing communities in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven at a lower cost, and in a more effective and efficient way should be the upmost priority," Ms Guido said.
"Good planning means good growth.
"We want to encourage all levels of government to work together with community and industry across to ensure planning decisions are supported by sustainable, transparent decision-making that enables the creation of great places and liveable communities."
The Property Council of Australia is a leading advocate for Australia's property industry.
The council recently announced a new Illawarra Committee, including new chair Jennifer Macquarie.
