NSW councils could propose locally tailored alternatives to the state’s Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy under a new plan announced by the Liberal and National parties.
The proposed Low and Mid-Rise Alternate Plan Pathway would allow councils to determine where and how additional homes are delivered, provided their plans meet or exceed the housing capacity required under the existing policy.
Alternative plans would be assessed and certified by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Where no alternative is approved, the current Low and Mid-Rise controls would continue to apply.
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said the Coalition supported increasing housing supply but believed councils should have greater flexibility to respond to local infrastructure, heritage and environmental conditions.
“This is not about reducing housing,” Shadow Planning Minister Chris Rath said. “The target number of homes stays exactly the same. What changes is how those homes are delivered.”
The Coalition argues the approach would reduce conflict between councils and the State Government while allowing development to be concentrated in locations better able to accommodate growth.
It pointed to locally developed planning approaches in areas including Bondi Junction and Burwood as examples of councils working with the State Government to reshape housing delivery.
The Minns Government’s existing Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy applies around 171 train stations, light rail stops and town centres and is expected to enable up to 112,000 homes over five years.
The Coalition claims only 4,900 homes had been approved under the reforms by February 2026. That figure has not been independently confirmed in publicly available NSW Planning data and should be treated as an opposition estimate.
The proposal remains Coalition policy and has not changed the current planning rules. It would require government adoption or implementation by a future Coalition government before councils could use the alternative pathway.
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