Recently introduced to the Queensland Parliament, the Economic Development and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Qld) (Bill) aims to enhance accessibility to social and affordable housing to assist with alleviating supply pressures. The goal is to increase the availability of high-quality social and affordable homes, expedite development, and foster government and industry capacity for the delivery of innovative housing projects.
The Bill seeks to change the objectives of the Economic Development Act 2012 (Qld) (ED Act) by including provisions for diverse housing, social housing, and affordable housing as one of the Act's primary purposes.
To achieve these new objectives, the Bill focuses on several key areas:
- Empowering Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) to deliver an additional 1,300 dwellings over the next five years, as well as authorising the approval of a further 15,000 homes in Priority Development Areas (PDAs).
- Allowing the Minister for EDQ (MEDQ) to impose conditions on development approvals in PDAs, requiring the inclusion of social and affordable housing.
- Declaring 'Place Renewal Areas' (PRAs) within a PDA or on PDA-associated land where there is an identified State interest and action is required. PRAs will require a 'Place Renewal Framework' (PRF) detailing the vision, objectives, and outcomes.
- Expanding the powers of the MEDQ to now include additional investment capability, land acquisition powers, ability to require remission of infrastructure charges, and to create temporary planning instruments (TPIs).
- The Bill maintains the MEDQ under government oversight but makes EDQ independent of its current department. This change aims to enhance EDQ's flexibility and expedite its responses to market changes, facilitating its operation as a separate entity.
- Implementing operational amendments aimed at increasing EDQ’s efficiency.
The Bill is currently under consideration by the Housing, Big Build, and Manufacturing Committee (Committee). The Committee is welcoming submissions on the Bill throughout the consultation process, detailed on the Queensland Parliament website. Dates for submission closings and the Committee report deadline remain to be determined.
In this insight, we explore the key amendments to the ED Act introduced by the Bill, including a series of new powers for MEDQ that are intended to promote the development of social and affordable housing.
Overview
The Bill was introduced into the Queensland Parliament on 20 March 2024. The proposed changes are part of the Queensland Government’s strategy to address housing supply and the affordability challenges in the State. As with other bills previously introduced, as mentioned in our prior update, this legislative move supports the implementation of the Queensland Government’s Homes for Queenslanders plan as well as the Federal Government's National Housing Accord.
Aiming to simplify and expedite housing development, the Bill empowers MEDQ and EDQ to take the lead in delivering diverse housing options, with an emphasis on social and affordable housing. The Bill contains amendments which clarify and expand the authority of the MEDQ, including the ability to directly enter into agreements with third parties such as Community Housing Providers to pursue social and affordable housing initiatives.
The reforms will facilitate the funding, delivery and supply of affordable housing, opening opportunities for public-private partnerships and collaborations between the government and the development sector.
Key Amendments
Social and Affordable Housing
A key piece to the Bill is the introduction of the concepts of ‘social housing’ and ‘affordable housing’:
- Social housing: includes housing provided to an individual for residential use based on eligibility requirements relating to the individual prescribed under the Housing Act 2003 (Qld) (Housing Act), public housing under the Housing Act and crisis accommodation; and
- Affordable housing: includes housing that is affordable to particular types of households under criteria prescribed by regulation for the particular type of household.
Central to the Bill is the ability for MEDQ to require the inclusion of social and affordable housing within the development conditions for projects within PDAs. Consequently, developers will need to account for any such social or affordable housing requirements in their project planning in PDAs. Alternatively, developers may provide a financial contribution in lieu of actual housing (Monetary Contributions).
Under the Bill, MEDQ must use these Monetary Contributions for developing social and affordable housing within the same local government area. Whilst the method for calculating Monetary Contributions is yet to be determined, the Monetary Contribution must cover at least the development costs and any administrative expenses incurred by MEDQ. As a result, the Monetary Contribution may be a significant financial commitment.
However, the Bill also enables MEDQ to partner with entities through housing agreements which can waive the requirement for Monetary Contributions. Such waivers are dependent on whether an entity can deliver social or affordable housing, even if the development is outside the PDA. Importantly, any obligations arising from these agreements will attach to the land. Whilst this offers an additional avenue for developers to meet housing requirements, it should be noted that anyone buying or selling PDA-affiliated land must consider the conditions of these agreements.
Introducing Place Renewal Areas
The Bill enables MEDQ to declare certain lands in a PDA, or PDA-associated land, as a PRA where the planning and development involves, or is likely to involve, a State interest and action should be taken to give effect to that interest. State interest includes an interest relating to the main purpose of the ED Act. Therefore, under the proposed changes to the main purpose of the ED Act, a State interest will include the provision of diverse housing, social housing and affordable housing.
A PRA declaration will take a number of factors into account, namely, among other things, where:
- there are multiple landowners and fragmented land ownership and through consolidating land parcels;
- there is an opportunity to unlock strategic sites, accelerate development and deliver place renewal;
- the State has developable land and there is potential to deliver value-uplift through place renewal;
- there is an opportunity to create a more sustainable, inclusive and accessible place, and to deliver government priorities and infrastructure more effectively through leadership, coordination, placemaking and a whole-of-place approach; and
- a State interest is involved.
Once a PRA is declared, MEDQ will create a PRF which will outline the vision, objectives, and outcomes for the area and how these will be implemented. Developers will need to ensure that any projects undertaken on a PRA align with the PRF.
Before finalising a PRF, MEDQ must consult with local government and other entities likely to be affected, enhancing the opportunity for third-party developers to offer input into the framework that their projects will need to be aligned with. Furthermore, MEDQ will have the authority to request information from any entity to aid in the drafting of the PRF, highlighting the Bill’s aim to drive a more consultative and stakeholder-centric approach.
MEDQ’s Additional Powers
The Bill further proposes to expand MEDQ's powers to facilitate investment in, and the development of, social and affordable housing across Queensland. Additional changes to MEDQ’s functions and powers include:
1. Ability to direct a government entity, distributor-retailer, or local government to provide information and assistance:
Distributor-retailers in certain local government areas control water and sewer infrastructure, which is fundamental to unlocking development in PDAs. MEDQ’s current power to direct is limited to government entities and local governments. The Bill clarifies that these powers extend to distributor-retailers to support development within a PDA. The actions that MEDQ can direct local governments, government entities or distributor-retailers to take include:
- accepting land within a PDA or PDA-associated land;
- accepting funds for the purpose of maintaining infrastructure; and
- providing or maintaining infrastructure in, or related to, a PDA where the maintenance of the infrastructure by the directed entity is necessary for proper and orderly planning, development, and management of the PDA.
The ED Act currently defines a distributor-retailer as one established under the South-East Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Act 2009 (Qld), which includes Queensland Urban Utilities and Unitywater. In its current form, the Bill does not seek to amend this definition of distributor-retailer.
2. Ability to undertake investment activities in property assets to facilitate economic development and development for community purposes:
To facilitate the long-term ownership and management of a property asset portfolio, the Bill amends the ED Act to enable MEDQ to undertake investment activities in property assets. These activities aim to facilitate economic development and development for community purposes and will require appropriate approval under the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982 (Qld) to form investment vehicles.
Each investment structure will be subject to the main aims of the ED Act, and returns may be recycled back into the investment vehicle or transferred to the Economic Development Fund. This provision offers developers opportunities, as development initiatives can align closely with the State's economic objectives and community needs.
3. Land acquisition powers to provide infrastructure for a PDA or to give effect to a PRF:
The Bill grants new powers to MEDQ to acquire land, including an easement. MEDQ may only acquire land if it is necessary to provide infrastructure for the benefit of a PDA or to put into effect a PRF within a PRA, and MEDQ is convinced that acquiring the land is in the public interest. These changes will enhance MEDQ’s capacity to deliver critical infrastructure essential for development within a PDA. MEDQ will follow the process detailed in the Acquisition of Land Act 1967 (Qld) when acquiring land, ensuring just compensation for landowners whose properties are affected. It is intended that this power would be used as a last resort.
4. Power to create TPIs:
TPIs can be formulated if MEDQ considers the risk of potential serious adverse cultural, economic, environmental, or social conditions in the area, or if aligning a development instrument with a PRF is necessary or desirable. Notably, MEDQ is not obliged to consult with any party prior to creating a TPI, despite the Bill's intention to make MEDQ’s approaches 'more consultative'.
5. Ability to mandate the remission of relevant infrastructure charges:
MEDQ may require any payment made under a development or water approval related to a PDA (e.g., for trunk infrastructure or under an infrastructure charges notice) to be remitted to MEDQ if MEDQ is satisfied that the funds could be used to address the impacts of development. However, it is currently unclear what will be considered as ‘impacts of development’.
Other Operational Amendments
Proposed operational amendments are included in the Bill to assist MEDQ and EDQ with performing their functions, including:
- allowing MEDQ to recover administrative costs and the costs of its non-regulatory advisory services;
- clarifying that MEDQ has the power to direct distributor-retailers who control critical infrastructure in PDAs to accept, provide, or maintain that critical infrastructure;
- where a person fails to comply with an enforcement notice, allowing authorised employees or agents to enter land and take action required under the enforcement notice without the consent of an owner/occupier. However, 7 days' notice must be provided and reasonable endeavours to obtain the consent of the owner/occupier must be made; and
- allowing MEDQ to extend an interim land use plan’s expiry date by 12 months or make minor administrative amendments where MEDQ considers it appropriate.
To increase effectiveness, the Bill also restructures EDQ's governance, introducing a skills-based board that will decide the objectives, strategies, and policies of EDQ and a new CEO. This aims to optimise the organisation's responsiveness to market and government priorities.
Next Steps
The Bill signals a transformative phase for Queensland's housing market, with a strong focus on increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. The Bill aims to utilise MEDQ and its powers to efficiently facilitate the development of social and affordable housing, community projects, and infrastructure in the State’s interest.
The Bill is currently being considered by the Committee. Submission closure dates and the Committee report due date are yet to be determined.
Developers and individuals should stay informed and consider how the proposed changes may impact their current and planned projects in PDAs.
