Key takeaway points:
- New powers to accelerate land assembly and deliver more housing supply in Queensland have been introduced in the Economic Development Act 2012 effective 1 July 2024.
- The amendments leverage government intervention to ‘deliver more homes faster’.
- The remit of Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) has been strengthened to deliver more housing supply across the State was a specific action identified in the outcomes report from last year’s Queensland Housing Summit. This includes new social and affordable housing in the context of urban renewal and precincts.
Overview
Economic Development Act amendments – behind the new powers to deliver more homes when and where they are needed
The Economic Development Act 2012 (ED Act) has been amended to leverage government intervention to ‘deliver more homes faster’. The focus is on four key areas: housing supply, affordability and diversity; the introduction of a place renewal framework; EDQ’s corporate structure; and operational refinements to existing functions and powers.
The ED Act amendments complement amendments to the mainstream planning regime in the Planning Act 2016, effected by the Housing Availability and Affordability (Planning and Other Legislation Amendment) Act 2024.
Amended ED Act purpose
The ED Act’s previous main purpose was to facilitate economic development, and development for community purposes, in the State. The purpose has been amended to add:
- the provision of diverse housing, including for example, social housing and affordable housing;
- the provision of premises for commercial or industrial uses.
The latter recognises the role EDQ plays in delivering industrial land (for example Sunshine Coast Industrial park) and business innovation parks such as Lumina at the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.
The following are key definitions for this enlarged purpose.
- Diverse housing is defined as a range of housing to meet a variety of community needs, including, for example, housing of different size, type, price, built form, density, cost adaptability and tenure.
- Provision, of diverse housing or premises, includes the funding, facilitation, delivery, supply and ownership of the housing or premises.
- Affordable housing is housing that is affordable to particular types of households under criteria prescribed by regulation for the particular type of household.
- Social housing is housing provided to an individual for residential use based on eligibility requirements (prescribed under the Housing Act 2003) relating to the individual (eg. income and assets.
Expanded conditioning power
The Minister for Economic Development Queensland (MEDQ)’s powers have been expanded. The MEDQ’s conditioning power now expressly recognises that a PDA development condition may relate to affordable and social outcomes in a priority development area (PDA). It enables the imposition of PDA development conditions which relate to the following:
- the supply of social housing on the land the subject of the PDA development approval;
- the supply of affordable housing on the land the subject of the PDA development approval;
- the payment of an amount in lieu of the supply of social housing or affordable housing. In this case, the paid amount may be used by MEDQ for provision of social housing or affordable housing in the local government area in which the PDA is situated. As an alternative to making the payment required by a condition, the MEDQ may enter into a housing agreement (see below).
For the Southport PDA, the existing instrument of delegation and direction delegates the MEDQ’s entire decision- making powers for a PA development application to the Council of the City of Gold Coast – including the conditioning power. PDA development application decision-making for the other PDAs in the Gold Coast and Logan areas (Parklands, Greater Flagstone and Yarrabilba) rests with the MEDQ.
A fundamental constraint on the exercise of the conditioning power for social and affordable housing is that the relevant PDA development instrument must provide for requirements relating to social or affordable housing.
Greater Flagstone, Yarrabilba, Ripley Valley and Northshore Hamilton PDA Development Schemes and the Woolloongabba ILUP are examples that include such requirements. It is apparent that there are other PDA development schemes, such as the Parklands and Southport schemes, that would need to be amended to enliven the social or affordable housing conditioning power. It may be that the new TLPI-making power (also discussed in this update), will have some utility in this space.
Housing agreements
As an alternative to making the payment required by a condition, the MEDQ may enter into a housing agreement with an entity, to waive the payment in exchange for the supply of social housing or affordable housing on either the land the subject of the PDA development approval or other land that is not the subject of the approval and which may be within or outside the PDA.
Like an infrastructure agreement, the responsibilities under a housing agreement attach to the land the subject of the PDA development approval and bind the owner and its successors in title (assuming the owner is a party to the agreement, or consents to responsibilities attaching to the land). The housing agreement applies instead of the condition of the PDA development approval to the extent of inconsistency.
Temporary planning instruments making power
Temporary local planning instruments (TLPI) are a known tool of the Queensland mainstream planning regime. A TLPI enables a relatively quicker response to urgent or emergent planning issues by creating provisions that temporarily suspend or otherwise affect the operation of the existing local planning instrument, until longer-term instrument amendments are addressed. This is a feature that has been absent from the ED Act.
Like its Planning Act counterpart, the ED Act will allow for making of a temporary planning instrument (TPI) when the MEDQ considers there is a risk, or potential risk, of serious adverse cultural, economic, environmental or social conditions happening in the relevant area.
A TPI will also be able to be made if it is necessary or desirable to align an interim land use plan or development scheme with the place renewal framework for a place renewal area. Place renewal areas, as discussed below, are an entirely new concept.
Place renewal areas
This new concept empowers the MEDQ to declare a place renewal area within a PDA or on PDA- associated land. The intent is that it will enable more coordinated renewal in PDAs where there are multiple landowners (public and private) and fragmented ownership.
To declare a place renewal area, the MEDQ must be satisfied that the planning and development of the proposed place renewal area involves, or is likely to involve, a State interest and action should be taken to give effect to that interest. Mandatory consultation is limited to consultation with the local government.
The consequence of a place renewal area declaration is that a place renewal framework must be made within 12 months. The framework is to specify the vision, objective and outcomes for the place renewal area. It must include an implementation plan to achieve the vision, objectives and outcomes.
The local government must be consulted on the proposed framework, as must any government entity, GOC or other person/entity the MEDQ considers is likely to be affected.
The PDA development scheme (or other instrument) will continue to regulate land use within the PDA, but the place renewal framework will be an additional consideration in deciding a PDA development application, under section 87 of the ED Act.
Land acquisition powers
The MEDQ’s powers to acquire land or other property have been enlarged, to enable such acquisition to facilitate the (enlarged) main purpose of the ED Act. Land (including easements) may be acquired for either of the following purposes:
- to provide infrastructure for the benefit of a PDA; or
- to give effect to a place renewal framework for a place renewal area.
It is a precondition that MEDQ is satisfied the taking of the land is necessary for the purpose and the Minister is satisfied it is in the public interest. The Acquisition of Land Act 1967 will apply.
The acquisition power may be exercised even though the taking of the land is for conferring rights or interests in the land on another entity (for example, a local government, in the case of land for a local road to be under the control of the local government). In such cases however, reasonable steps must be taken to obtain the landowner’s agreement. In the context of place renewal areas, use of the MEDQ acquisition power is intended as a last resort.
In introducing the amending Bill, the Minister indicated the circumstances for acquisition in a place renewal area would be where there is a barrier to progressing critical development and all other options have been exhausted. The Explanatory Notes contemplate the reserve power could be used to acquire land where needed to facilitate economic growth, boost housing supply, and/or deliver key public facilities or for other community purposes for the place renewal area.
Operational efficiency measures
The ED Act amendments also contain various operational efficiency measures. These include:
- expanded directions powers;
- enabling directions to be given by the MEDQ to a local government or distributor-retailer to remit collected infrastructure charges (a ‘relevant infrastructure amount’) for a development approval or water approval that is a ‘relevant approval’ as defined in new section 117C;
- fees for MEDQ services;
- enforcement and remedial action powers for authorised EDQ employees or MEDQ agents.
Contact our Planning and Environment experts if you would like assistance about housing initiatives in priority development areas.
