Our aim is to create a new blueprint for how to engage communities on the benefits of increasing density in places people want to live. This means more LGAs will meet their housing targets while ensuring density is done well.
In AMPLIFY’s National AMPLIFICATION on Housing, a mega majority backed upzoning near public transport to allow medium-density homes.
To meet Australia’s National Housing Accord construction target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029, the community and experts agree that we need to unlock more housing in the places people want to live - near jobs, schools and transport.
Increasing housing density - particularly around transport hubs, well-serviced areas and our cities - is one of the most powerful levers governments can pull to improve affordability, reduce infrastructure costs and boost productivity.
Recent moves by the New South Wales and Victorian governments to allow increased development near transport hubs is a step forward. But top-down zoning reforms only gets us so far.
To actually build more homes, rezoned land needs to have proposed developments approved.
We know that planning approval systems tend to favour existing residents, tend to exclude younger people, renters, and families from outside the area who want to live in these new homes, and don’t provide a holistic and balanced consideration of the pros and cons of increased density.
We also know that currently there is no trusted process for bringing the community into decisions about how local authorities will meet their new home construction targets, set under the National Housing Accord.
Therefore, bringing more voices into the conversation, in the right way and at the right time, is vital for enabling these reforms to stick.
That’s where AMPLIFY comes in.
What AMPLIFY Is Doing to Unlock Density
As AMPLIFY’s deliberative model of engagement illustrates, when a diverse group of Australians are brought together, uncommon ground can be found.
Australians aren’t all NIMBYs. Many are MIMBYs—maybe in my backyard, if the concerns are addressed:
- Traffic, parking, schools
- Neighbourhood character
- Local input and benefit
We will test a new model that brings together community, housing experts, and representatives of state government agencies and local councils to agree a way forward.
Our aim is to create a new blueprint for how to engage communities on the benefits of increasing density in places people want to live.
This means more LGAs will meet their housing targets while ensuring density is done well.
AMPLIFY these ideas for change
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