In June 2021, the Queensland Government released the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021-2025 (Action Plan) to 'build on the outcomes of the Queensland Housing Strategy by increasing social and affordable homes across the state'.

A $1 billion Housing Investment Fund (HIF) was established under the Action Plan to encourage private sector investment in the development of social and affordable housing across Queensland. At the Queensland Housing Summit on 20 October 2022, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a commitment to double the HIF capital to $2 billion, to target 5,600 new social and affordable homes by June 2027. Read the government's media release, Housing Investment Fund boosted to $2 billion.

To facilitate the efficient development of these homes, the Queensland government has introduced changes to Queensland's planning legislation to streamline approvals for social and affordable housing, as well as exempting emergency accommodation from approval.

The relevant changes to the Planning Regulation 2017 (Qld) by the Planning (Emergency Housing) Amendment Regulation 2022 (Qld) are summarised below.

Infrastructure designations for social and affordable housing

An infrastructure designation can now be used for development for:

• housing that is provided as part of a program, funded by the State, for providing social or affordable housing (for example, the HIF); and
• social or affordable housing that is provided by a registered community housing provider within the meaning of the Housing Act 2003 (Qld).

Infrastructure designations provide an alternative to lodging a development application with local governments, and can result in faster and more certain outcomes, including by avoiding third-party appeal rights. Before these changes, only public housing delivered by the State had the benefit of this assessment pathway.

Material change of use for emergency accommodation

State and local governments can now deliver emergency housing on a temporary basis in response to emergency events (such as flooding, bushfire, epidemics or other emergency events) without seeking planning approval through the development assessment process.

The amendments mean that a local categorising instrument (such as a local government's planning scheme) cannot make a material change of use assessable development if:

• the use is the provision of emergency accommodation, on a temporary basis, for persons affected by the impact of an event under the Disaster Management Act 2003 (Qld); and
• the accommodation is provided by, or on behalf of, the State or a local government; and
• no part of the premises is in any of the following areas under a State planning instrument or local instrument: (i) a flood hazard area; (ii) a bushfire hazard area; and (iii) a landslide hazard area.