The ACT Government has released nine updated district strategies, the new Territory Plan, and new design guides. Mick Gentleman, ACT Minister for Planning and Land Management, will introduce the draft plan in the Legislative Assembly this week to a government committee for further inquiry, then every Member will vote on them. If approved – and the Greens will support them – they will come into effect in November.

This follows the passage of the Planning Bill 2022 in June.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the new planning system would increase housing supply where people want to live, consistent with the government’s approach of gentle urbanism. He expects that it will increase supply in the range of tens of thousands over many decades.

Under the new Territory Plan, Residential Zone 1 (RZ1) blocks greater than 800 square metres will be able to have a secondary dwelling up to 120 square metres in size – larger than most two-bedroom and many three-bedroom apartments in high density areas, Mr Barr said. This will increase both housing and renting stock, Mr Gentleman said.

“What we’re endeavouring to do here is not create a situation where one very large house becomes two very large houses on the block,” Mr Barr said. “It’s designed to inject a different type of housing into the market in existing suburbs, to provide an alternative to apartments in locations where people want to live.”

Torrens resident Julie Hamilton, for instance, has built a second dwelling on her block: she has converted her double garage into a spacious home. Her development application (DA) was approved, but she cannot get a unit title under current regulations. She will be able to under the new regulations, Mr Gentleman said. (‘Unit title’ means a type of property ownership where home owners own a defined part of a building such as an apartment, generally known as a unit.)

“I think it’s quite subtle: it’s tucked away; it doesn’t dominate the streetscape,” Ms Hamilton said. “I think my neighbours are quite happy that they’re living next to this style of secondary residence, rather than a huge knock-down rebuild double-storey that might really impinge on them.”

The government expects that 70 per cent of new establishments and dwellings will occur in the current footprint, and only 30 per cent in greenfields areas, Mr Gentleman said.

“There will be more apartments and there will be more single residences in new suburbs,” Mr Barr said. “It’s a balanced approach to Canberra’s population growth.”

The ACT Government was committed to increasing housing supply as the population grew, he said.

“Four thousand additional homes each year is the sort of target that we need to meet as a minimum. Not all of that can come from new suburbs, and not all of that can come from the CBD or town centre apartments. The missing middle has been identified by many as another contributor to housing supply.”

Mr Gentleman said the new system “provides a way forward that looks at better outcomes for planning in the ACT”, in contrast to the old territory plan, which was rules-based and did not encourage people to think innovatively.

The ACT Greens supported the new interim territory plan, Rebecca Vassarotti, Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Building and Construction, said. It significantly lifted ambition in terms of planning; it was human scale and responded to the environment.

But the Greens believed it was not the end of the discussion: they wanted more medium density development with green space and communal space. Both the Greens and the Canberra Liberals said they would scrutinise the plan.

Canberra Liberals MLA Peter Cain, Shadow Minister for Planning and Land Management, was not impressed. He said the RZ1 plan was “a very unambitious copy” of the Liberals’ plan at the last election to allow separately titled dwellings on blocks 800 square metres or larger.

“To approve building a 120 square metre granny flat on a parcel is actually something people can do right now.”

The Canberra Liberals will take a plan to the next election to provide a greater variety of housing by not limiting the size, Mr Cain said. In Belconnen, he noted, there were 1,700 square metre blocks of land: “Why limit that owner to a 120 square metre granny flat?”

Mr Cain said the November implementation of the plan did not give the community enough time to look at the interaction between the Planning Act and the new documents issued today.

Master Builders ACT welcomed the new system as “a new era for planning in the ACT”, addressing housing affordability and quality in the ACT.

While there might be initial challenges, industry and community training and responsive government feedback mechanisms could assist in the transition. CEO Michael Hopkins emphasised the need for alignment with other policies like infrastructure planning and taxation to attract investment, promote economic growth, and support Canberra’s expanding city.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) praised the new ACT Territory Plan for allowing subdivision in RZ1 under certain conditions, potentially increasing housing supply in Canberra, but expressed disappointment that the secondary dwelling size was limited, and suggested a 700 square metre block size.

The HIA also welcomed changes in RZ2, which allow for different dwelling types and relaxed block sale regulations.

Howard Maclean, the Convenor of Greater Canberra, expressed disappointment with the New Territory Plan, which he believes fails to deliver meaningful reform to the planning system in Canberra. In his opinion, this plan missed a valuable opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and contain urban sprawl while providing housing where it is in demand.

Mr Maclean criticized the plan for not incorporating elements of the Missing Middle Canberra platform, such as upzoning RZ1 to RZ2, allowing for the creation of new townhouses, terraces, and other medium density typologies on larger blocks, which both Labor and Greens politicians had endorsed.

Furthermore, the RZ1 dual occupancies policy is ineffective due to poor design and high costs; the decision to ban residential housing in the Phillip trades area hinders the creation of a vibrant mixed-use corridor similar to Lonsdale Street in Braddon; and drafting errors in the plan could massively reduce housing capacity in high-density residential zones, Mr Maclean said.

Mr Maclean expressed concerns about the potential for a housing undersupply in the late 2020s, which could lead to substantially increased rents and lower vacancy rates, leading to higher poverty rates and decreased economic growth.

Mr Maclean called on the government to implement the Missing Middle reforms endorsed by the ACT Labor and Greens parties.

A training and education program will be rolled out over the coming months with representatives from industry, the community, and other users of the new system.

More information about the new planning system and the finalised documents is available on the ACT Government’s planning website.

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