b'APRIL 2025 Both the Commonwealth and NSW ProductivityA study undertaken by MetroSight in the USA, Commissions have called out the massive cost ofbased on a detailed examination of 2,500 planning and building construction regulation 2 .properties in 50 metropolitan areas, found that In the worst cases, new building code regulationsrental regulation resulted in lower revenues and have been introduced into the Building Code ofhigher costs for rental providers 4 . Australia despite showing a negative cost-benefit analysis result. Treasuries have simply stoppedThis is analogous for all regulation, including reviewing regulatory change proposals andbuilding regulation, planning regulation. These governments have become all too keen to blithelyimposts are not necessarily bad, but the cost of accept them. This is a huge factor driving uptheir application should be known up front.construction costs.This paper then examined the relative impost of The Federal Productivity Commission Researchfees, taxes and charges in each of the capital Paper into housing construction productivity found: cities for both new apartments and for stand-alone houses, finding again the by far the To develop and construct housing in Australiagreatest burden on new home consumers is requires compliance with layers of regulationapplied in Sydney.imposed by every level of government that dictate: Finally, this paper makes recommendationswhere housing can be built (for example,which, not surprisingly, focuses on the regulatory planning regulations in each state and territoryenvironment and the property taxation burden, that affect things like which land is zoned forand the constraints they create for the feasible residential development)supply of housing stock. how housing should be built (for example, the National Construction Codewhich regulates minimum standards about how buildings are constructed)what housing should look like (for example, local government planning requirements for setbacks and roof pitches). 3When it comes to planning regulation, the very concept of a rigorous cost benefit analysis or regulatory impact assessment has proven to be anathema to planning authorities concept of public service. Being held to account for the financial and non-financial cost of regulation represents an existential threat to land use planners and architects. They resent oversight from treasuries or productivity specialists and typically do everything they can to avoid scrutiny.2 Productivity Commission, (2025). Housing construction productivity: Can we fix it?, Australian Government andthe NSW Productivity and Equality Commission, 2024.3 Ibid., Section 3.4.4 Shaag, D. And Romem, I. (2025), "Behind the High Cost of Rent" Page 6, Metrosight, accessed fromwww.MetroSight.com, accessed from: https://metrosight.com/articles/behind-the-high-cost-of-rent4'