NSW government splits department to provide greater housing focus 

NSW Premier Chris Minns announced on Friday (18 August) that the current Department of Planning and Environment will be split into two as of 1 January 2024 to “better deliver on the government’s priorities of addressing the energy challenges, climate change, the environment and housing”.

Mr Minns said the two new dedicated entities would be the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.

The state government said the former specialised department will be helping keep “the lights on for NSW households” and leading the transition to clean renewable energy as well as setting up the Energy Security Corporation.

Meanwhile the latter will look to help address the cost of living “by ensuring housing is more affordable”.

The new departments will also be joined by the Office of Energy and Climate Change, which is currently within the Treasury, while the government said there would be no changes to ministerial portfolios.

The changes have been made after a “detailed review and analysis of services and programs”, with Mr Minns declaring the government always “keep people at the heart of our decisions”.

He said: “The new Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water pulls together the collective environmental expertise of government into one place – creating a team ready to tackle one of our biggest challenges in energy security.

“The changes announced today will also provide a renewed focus and deep expertise to address the housing crisis.”

NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said: “We inherited a housing crisis more than a decade in the making and know how challenging the housing situation is for everyone. We’ve already established new planning rules which encourage the construction of more homes.

“We’ve reformed infrastructure contributions to get roads, schools, health services and open spaces delivered faster in areas of high housing growth. These changes combined with departmental changes will hone our housing delivery focus.

“I look forward to the new approach and fresh ideas that will be generated by bringing together the best minds and expertise in the public sector.”

The departmental split comes after the NSW Labor government previously introduced the creation of a new housing department – Homes NSW – to help face the housing crisis.

Late last month (July) Mr Minns said the Homes NSW entity needed to be “more than just changing email addresses and business cards”, declaring it needed to be about restructuring and rebuilding the social and affordable housing system in NSW.

He said: “The NSW Government is taking the housing crisis seriously and we want Homes NSW to be a massive success. Part of that success is listening to the community and taking their feedback on board.

“We are delivering on our election commitment to establish Homes NSW. This is a significant opportunity to create a seamless approach to housing with the focus on people front and centre.

“Homes NSW is part of a range of initiatives to address the housing crisis and help to reduce homelessness in NSW. Getting it right is an important first step.”

[Related: Labor pledges to create new housing agency, Homes NSW]