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Victoria has now approved 60 per cent of its 1,400 backlogged housing applications.
Back in November last year, it was revealed that 1,400 planning permit applications for multiunit housing had sat with councils across the state for more than six months. The Victorian government noted that 550 of those had been with councils for over one year.
Now, the government has revealed it is well on its way to clearing that backlog, as it also looks to tackle the supply of its proposed target of 800,000 new homes over the next decade.
There have been 2,826 new dwellings approved after a longstanding six-month-plus delay. A total of 22 permits from the backlog have been approved in the city of Boroondara, marking a total 53 new homes for the area.
According to Premier Jacinta Allan, “having planning applications sitting in the system doesn’t help anyone”.
“Since September, we’ve already cleared over half the backlog so more Victorians can live close to great jobs, public transport and services,” she stated.
Alongside clearing the backlog, the Victorian government said it is focusing its efforts upon using good-quality land that is underused for further supply.
The approval for its use is being fast-tracked to be turned into housing that is close to public transport, jobs and critical services.
One such example is a former University of Melbourne campus, set to be transformed into a mixed-use development that will cater for 350 homes – 10 per cent of which will be used as affordable housing.
According to the government, the new development will allow 2,500 square metres of open space be publicly accessible, while its neighbour, the Big Housing Build, nears completion.
A total of 206 new one, two- and three-bedroom social and affordable homes are currently nearing completion next door to the former university campus.
The latest from the government follows the release of Victoria’s Housing Statement last year, which noted housing affordability had reached its lowest in 30 years.
It flagged that households earning a median income of $105,000 could likely only afford around 13 per cent of homes on the market.
A household earning $64,000 a year could afford just 3 per cent of homes on the market.
To reverse these statistics, the government is working alongside the Property Council of Australia, Master Builders Victoria, the Urban Development Institute of Australia, the Housing Industry Association, and Super Housing Partnerships.
At the time of the statement’s release, then Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, said: “We’ll foster the conditions needed to stimulate investment and build high-quality homes, quickly, in the places where Victorians want to live – and the industry will build more social and affordable housing for those who need it most.”
In the report itself, it was written: “We need to do more to build enough houses for all of the people who need them. Because it’s only when there are enough homes to go around that more people will be able to afford them.”
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