From the Press
Stories
The construction projects your neighbours will no longer have to tell you about
New plans in New South Wales (NSW) are set to eliminate the need for neighbours to be notified about16 types of residential developments, potentially letting residents know about building projects only 7 days before construction begins
Sydney Morning Herald 21/5/2026The housing crisis in Australia isn't an accident…
…it's the result of decades of policy choices. Young Australians and first home buyers are now locked out of home ownership because successive governments have failed over a long time to invest in social housing.
ABC 20/5/2026What 3000 more homes around Bondi Junction could look like
About 3000 homes would be built around a revamped Oxford Street Mall, under Waverly council’s plan to turn Bondi Junction into the civic and commercial heart with a thriving residential, business and late-night hub. Councillors to vote for the “Bondi Beyond” masterplan to go on public exhibition.
Sydney Morning Herald 19/5/2026Route 500x West Ryde to CBD to be replaced by Route 52 Parramatta to CBD
An already over crowded service with 43 trips between 6am and 10am will be replaced by one with 6 extra trips but starting starting i8 km further out. Rail Tram and Bus Union divisional president Peter Grech said “…the city-bound buses on the new route would be “chock-a-block full” by the time they reached suburbs closer to the CBD, such as Drummoyne, during the morning weekday peak”. Another example of how the NSW State Government is handling the Victoria Road LMR corridor with West Ryde, Top Ryde, Gladesville and Drummone all using it to access the CBD.
Sydney Morning Herald 19/5/2026The ‘affordable’ housing policies that subsidised a rental unit listed for $925 a week
Australia is investing heavily in housing, but much of the funding goes to “affordable” housing that many low-income people still can’t access. These homes are cheaper to build but often end up serving middle-income renters, with rents still too high for those in need and rules that can exclude both low- and mid-income earners. Critics say this misdirects funds away from social housing, where demand is greatest, while supporters argue a mix of housing types helps prevent broader housing stress. According to the SMH economist and Sydney YIMBY secretary Dominic Behrens, and Melbourne YIMBY organiser Ethan Gilbert, argue that funding should be fully redirected towards social housing for the homeless or those at risk of homelessness (see next article)
Sydney Morning Herald 18/5/2026‘Affordable’ housing is not the same as social housing, and it doesn’t help those most in need. Australia is spending big on this—but we shouldn’t.
The government is picking up the tab for it, even when it thinks it isn’t. The NSW State Government offers approvals for up-lift builds as compensation for setting aside apartments for discounted rents, money which could have been spent better on more targeted programs and is an implicit subsidy. ‘Affordable' housing is a bad deal for tenants, and key workers. Affordable' housing means we’ve given up on solving the actual problem
Inflection Points 16/5/2026Liveable Victoria launched to campaign against Labor's planning reforms. A statewide coalition will campaign to oppose the Victorian government's planning reforms, arguing councils and community members should have greater input.
ABC New 4/5/2026Owners at 72-76 St Georges Cres have united to sell to Dare Property Group
The Urban Developer 24/3/2026More than 5000 rooms are planned in these Sydney suburbs. None will count as a home.
Sydney Morning Herald 24/3/2026‘It’s Paddo, not Rio’: The cheap Sydney units being replaced by penthouses with rooftop pools
Sydney Morning Herald 10/3/2026Revealed: The developer supersizing tactic rewriting Sydney’s skyline
Sydney Morning Herald 9/3/2026The Mosman mega-lot and the childcare centre in its shadow
A controversial plan to demolish 12 Mosman homes to make way for a 7-storey block with more than 100 units has sparked community concerns
Sydney Morning Herald 25/2/2026Locals fight to stop proposed demolition of cheap unit block in Marrickville to make way for luxury apartments
A DA before Inner West Council proposes to demolish a building with 18 low-rent units and replace it with one that has 8 of 43 being affordable
7-News 22/2/2026Middle-income Australians shut out of new home market
Home builders have given up on middle-income Australians, erecting thousands of million-dollar properties while leaving almost nothing for people earning less than $120,000 a year.
Sydney Morning Herald 22/2/2026‘Lives at risk’: former emergency service leaders blast government over development ‘lunacy’ in Sydney’s west
Former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins has blasted the state government’s record on natural disaster protections, saying the decision to develop in the flood-prone Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and putting housing approvals ahead of people’s lives is is “lunacy”
Sydney Morning Herald 22/2/2026$1.2m profit per unit: The research that helped decide Woollahra plan
The lure of $1.2million profit per apartment in the city’s east plus the governments laws mean that more affordable older buildings will be replaced with luxury apartments. Mayor Sarah Dixzon says “The Minns government is doing all it can to empower developers to push their profits even further off the charts in the pursuit of displacing affordability for luxury.”
Australian Financial Review 20/2/2026Why more apartments are going up in Woollahra than the western suburbs
Australian Financial Review 19/2/2026