b'APRIL 20251. INTRODUCTIONWhile housing inflation afflicts all the states and all the capital cities of Australia, it is worst in NSW. The paper examines a range of ABS data and is further informed by the lived experience of Urban Tom Forrest Taskforce members, the nations top property Chief Executive Officer developers, builders and equity financiers. They Urban Taskforce Australia have informed this study with case studies enabling a comparative analysis of Sydney (NSW), Brisbane (Queensland) and Melbourne (Victoria).Benjamin Gellie The paper then turns its attention to these Planning, Research andchallenges: what is different about NSW? Why is a Policy Analyst house so unaffordable in Sydney or NSW? Why are Urban Taskforce Australia homes typically 30% more expensive in Sydney than Melbourne or Brisbane 1 ?Be it for renters or buyers, housing affordabilityThe paper examines NSW in greater detail. It has become progressively unaffordable foris NSW that has seen the worst of the boom in many Australians.planning controls, fees, taxes and charges, state-based building regulations, design competitions While the problem of under-supply of housingand design review processes, and the singular lack has grown since the turn of the century, the post- of success of governments infrastructure delivery COVID years have seen a shift in the mood ofauthorities to match their funding investments with the public and the media as the housing supplythe land use planners ambitions.and affordability crisis has evolved. The NIMBY movement, which dominated policy thinking in the 15 years prior to COVID, has becomeWhen it comes to planning synonymous with selfish myopia and is increasinglyregulation, the very concept marginalised. However, it took a long time for the planners and building regulators to adjust toof a rigorous cost benefit the new reality. analysis or regulatory impact This paper argues that regulatory constraintsassessment has proven to suppress housing supply. Where this results in a deficit in locations of high demand, it creates abe anathema to planning persistent and growing gap between householdauthorities concept of public incomes, rental costs and dwelling prices. service. This paper examines a range of metrics, over time, across different states, to establish the relative extent of the problem of rising prices. 1Fernandez, M. A., & Martin, S. L. (2020). Whats so special about character? Urban Studies, 57(16), 3236-3251.https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980198957743'