Pre-built modular homes will be trialled in NSW in a bid to boost social housing stocks, amid calls for a new housing tsar and better rights for renters with research showing construction targets will not be met.
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Sites in Wollongong and Lake Macquarie, south of Sydney, have been selected to trial modular social homes under a NSW government trial hoped to speed up delivery.
But the government is still working through regulatory barriers for modular housing, which has not been rolled out at scale in the state before.
Housing affordability and availability is putting pressure on people in NSW and the state needs to use "non-traditional methods" to deliver more homes sooner, Premier Chris Minns said.
"We are pulling every lever we can to tackle the housing crisis," he said.
Housing and Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson said the trial was a step towards revolutionising public housing delivery.
"Leveraging modern construction methods will help us provide sustainable, quality housing faster for the people that need it most," she said.
The government is working with the state's building commission on standards for offsite manufacturing of homes.
Research from Oxford Economics Australia on Monday predicted more than one in five of the 1.2 million dwellings the nation is trying to build in the next five years will not be completed.
Meanwhile, business groups, universities and unions which are part of the Housing Now! alliance are calling for the appointment of a coordinator-general to drive delivery of new homes in NSW.
The role would direct government agencies to resolve planning challenges, reassess major, unapproved housing projects in a bid to resolve issues and guide government on infrastructure investment.
"A dedicated housing coordinator would cut through swathes of red tape, compel government agencies to address issues and inform cabinet on how to progress major housing projects stuck in the planning system," Housing Now! chair David Borger said.
The recommendation is one of 10 the alliance has made in its 2024 policy platform, launched on Monday.
Other policies include rezoning to allow housing to be constructed at places of worship, alternative planning pathways for university accommodation, and better security for renters with an end to no-grounds evictions.
Mr Borger is also scheduled to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into a proposal to develop Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney's west into a mini-city of up to 25,000 homes.
The inquiry is chaired by opposition housing spokesman Scott Farlow and will examine the development proposal's process and what role the government played, as well as associated impacts on transport infrastructure and the horse-racing industry.
Trainer Gai Waterhouse has previously voiced her opposition to the proposal and will be first to appear before the committee inquiry on Monday.
Australian Associated Press
