Wollongong Council Must Approve More Homes Than Neighbouring Areas

The NSW government’s Housing Supply Affordability Reform changes the duties of mayors and councils in development approvals under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, requiring Wollongong City Council to publish regular updates on progress toward regional housing targets that also apply to other Illawarra and Shoalhaven councils.

The changes take effect amid the steel industry transition at BlueScope and the rollout of the Port Kembla renewable energy zone, both of which the state links to the need for additional housing supply across the Illawarra Shoalhaven area.

Consequences for Local Households and Services

Residents in suburbs such as Warrawong or Unanderra who lodge development applications may experience processing timelines that differ from those in Shellharbour City Council, where separate local environmental plan settings govern how quickly approvals move forward under the same state targets.

The reform ties council reporting more directly to state regional plans, so infrastructure contributions collected from new projects in Wollongong feed into roads, parks and utilities that serve existing ratepayers near the port and the steelworks site.

Policy analysts note that Wollongong’s larger geographic area and existing industrial land holdings produce different approval volumes than smaller neighbouring councils such as Kiama, where housing growth is concentrated in fewer release areas.

The legislation states that quarterly data from all councils must be lodged with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, allowing direct comparison of Wollongong’s figures against those from the Central Coast and Hunter councils also operating under the reform.

The government says the next set of published figures will appear later this financial year, giving Wollongong residents a clearer picture of how their council’s approval rate sits alongside other regional areas.