Bayside is being forced to absorb a major share of new dwellings under the state government's Housing Delivery Authority (HDA), established to fast-track major developments, while receiving no extra funding from the Department of Planning to cope with the significant increase in workload.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

or signup to continue reading

The HDA was established to fast-track the assessment of major residential developments through a State Significant Development (SSD) pathway that accelerates approval timeframes and allows developers to undertake concurrent rezoning and development assessment.

It was designed to help NSW stay on track to achieve the state's target of 377,000 new dwellings by 2029 under the National Housing Accord.

Between May 2025 and May 2026, the HDA received 30 EOIs within the Bayside Council LGA.

These proposals range from residential flat buildings, shop-top housing, seniors living, and co-living development.

The majority of submissions involve concurrent rezoning requests, with developers seeking substantial increases to height and floor space ratio.

Some of these are more than double current controls in some cases.

Several proposals include the provision of affordable housing, with allocations of up to 20 per cent and proposed building heights reaching up to 25 storeys.

Sites in Bayside LGA include 170 Rocky Point Road, Kogarah, a proposal for 223 apartments, including a 17 per cent allocation of affordable apartments (48) with a concurrent rezoning.

Analysis by the Sydney Morning Herald of projects declared by the HDA shows that:

Bayside LGA: new dwellings per 1000 residents 19, 3644 new dwellings, 10 projects, for a population a 187,770;

Georges River LGA - new dwellings per 1000 residents 19, 3114 new dwellings; 13 project, for a population of 163,919;

Sutherland Shire LGA - new dwellings per 1000 residents 13, new dwellings 3145, projects 12, population of 241,347.

Hawkesbury LGA with a population of 69,299 and Hunters Hill with a population of 13,983 have received zero projects.

"Bayside Council has received a significant increase in the volume of work arising from these EOI applications and subsequent SSDs. Due to the complexity and number of EOI applications, considerable time, resources, and internal consultation have been required to undertake thorough assessments," a report to the Bayside Environment and Planning Committee stated.

"To date, the DPHI have not provided any additional funding or resources to support Council in the review of these applications.

"Several proposals are expected to result in significant impacts on the local traffic network, and development that is inconsistent with the established character of the area that has not been previously envisaged within the LGA," the report stated