The NSW Department of Planning and Environment has launched the Rezoning Pathways Program to deliver and support strategically important rezonings, supporting home ownership by enabling a continual pipeline of housing supply across NSW.

Under the program, DPE has created two pathways for planning proposals to benefit from state involvement – (1) state-led and (2) state-assessed.

DPE will identify sites for state-led rezoning and will pilot a process for the industry to nominate rezoning proposals that could be stated-assessed if they deliver:

• more than 1000 dwellings in metropolitan NSW, or
• at least 300 dwellings in regional NSW.

State-led rezoning is where DPE leads a rezoning in large geographic areas or in precincts of state significance.
State-assessed rezoning is when DPE assesses a planning proposal of state significance or regional environmental planning significance.

There are four key factors DPE will use to determine the rezoning pathway:

1. how well the proposal demonstrates public benefits,
2. an assessment of the proposal’s contribution to affordable and social housing outcomes,
3. how well impediments to delivery are understood and whether there is a pathway to resolution, and
4. if infrastructure is available or if funding is committed to fund critical infrastructure.

Made up of senior departmental staff and subject matter experts, an assessment panel will be established to make recommendations based on these four factors.

Probity controls will be applied by DPE and a probity advisor will be engaged for each assessment process to ensure assessments are fair and transparent.

The Minister for Planning will retain the discretion to recommend the making of SEPPs and LEPs.

Although this sounds promising, DPE and other key State government agencies will need to be well-resourced to meet targeted delivery timeframes.

Applications to join the pathway will close on 22 January 2023 and proposals must be lodged within 2 months of that date.