Developer calls for unified government effort to address housing crisis

A leading developer has highlighted the urgent need for a unified approach from all levels of government to address Australia’s housing crisis, despite recent commitments from the federal and Queensland governments towards the issue. Kent Leicester, CEO of KDL Property Group, welcomed the Homes for Queensland program unveiled by Premier Steven Miles, which aims to create 53,500 new social homes by 2046. However, he stressed that achieving this target faces significant obstacles, including labor shortages and slow approval processes by councils and water authorities.

According to Leicester, the understaffing of local councils and authorities has led to a doubling in the time required to make residential projects “shovel ready” compared to five years ago. He noted, “Local councils and authorities are so under-manned dealing with planning and critical infrastructure approvals, the time it can take for a residential project to become ‘shovel ready’ has doubled compared to five years ago.” Leicester emphasized that the stretched and under-resourced nature of authorities in Southeast Queensland is already impacting KDL Property Group’s projects.

He advocated for a collaborative effort between private companies, like KDL, and authorities to streamline and expedite the approval process. KDL is working on six projects that will add over 1,100 new homes by 2026, including a project at Joyner benefiting from $6.74 million in funding from the Queensland Government’s Growth Acceleration Fund (GAF). Leicester suggested that state housing initiatives like GAF could do more to work with councils to eliminate bureaucratic delays.

Leicester also called for innovative solutions to tackle approval roadblocks, proposing that councils and other authorities could consider utilizing the services of certified private planning practitioners or engineers to assist with the approval process. He highlighted the prohibitive cost of council infrastructure charges, which can surpass $30,000 per block, as a further barrier to housing development. Leicester commended councils like Moreton Bay Regional Council for removing these charges for projects in certain locations designated for affordable housing. He urged the State government to collaborate with councils to fulfill its ambitious housing targets.