The NSW government keeps harping on about the length development applications (DAs) take to be processed by councils, and recently it announced it is removing the DA approval process from councils’ hands – even though councils consistently approve approximately 97 per cent of DAs.
But the state government has missed a fundamental point in the housing crisis conversation – that developers are not building approved housing.
Landbanking
Landbanking refers to a developer either holding land without making any specific plans for its development, or a developer receiving approval for a development but then waiting for its value to increase before finally releasing lots for sale or starting to build.
The building of the M1 has increased the accessibility of Byron Shire with many people who own businesses and/or work in the area now living in neighbouring local government areas (LGAs) the result being that Byron Shire is directly impacted by other LGA land releases.
With a housing crisis severely impacting the Northern Rivers and over 20,000 approved residential lots waiting for developers to release, Tweed Shire Council (TSC) are now calling for action by the NSW state government to end landbanking.
‘Despite thousands of approved lots sitting ready across the shire, many remain unbuilt – held by developers for whom land appreciates faster than the cost of holding it. Council is actively lobbying the NSW government for a mechanism to change that equation,’ TSC said in a recent press release.
Kings Forest
Tweed Shire Council’s General Manager Troy Green has pointed out that Kings Forest, that was approved for 4,500 homes 20 years ago, and only just released its first 148 lots in August 2025.
Mr Green highlights that Council took action to facilitate this project 20 years ago by building the infrastructure needed to progress the development.
‘Council borrowed and forward-funded the essential water and sewer works, completing them in 2012, so that when the time came, the groundwork was already done,’ Mr Green said. ‘Now our focus is making sure that pipeline keeps moving, because our community can’t afford for it to stall.’
A straightforward proposal
Tweed Shire Council says its proposal is straightforward: approved but undeveloped lots would be rated as though they were already built after a reasonable time period, making landbanking financially unattractive and motivating development.
‘We can plan all we like. If we don’t have a mechanism to make sure those houses get developed, what’s the point?’ Tweed Mayor Chris Cherry said.
‘When Council rezones land for housing, it does so because there is a need. If that development then sits mothballed, it makes it extremely difficult for utility providers to plan, fund, and build the infrastructure to support it. We need the state government to give us that lever.’
Research by Prosper Australia
Their position is supported by research by Prosper Australia that found that across master-planned communities, developers held an average of 76 per cent of their landbank vacant after 9.5 years, while lot prices grew at more than double the rate of wage growth.
‘The Tweed is not alone in facing this challenge – but Tweed Shire Council is among the first in the state to formally advocate for a use-it-or-lose-it solution,’ said the press release.
Does NSW Premier Chris Minns and the Minister for Housing Rose Jackson have the grit and determination to drive real change forward for the people of NSW despite the pressure from money, privileged developers, and their lobbyists?
Over to you NSW state government, show us if you have the mettle to enact real change.
Aslan Shand, editor
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
