The myHome Planner tool pulls together critical information from 48 government sites, expanding to now cover knockdown rebuilds. It's part of a strategy to entice the building of more housing in desirable locations as part of the National Housing Accord.
Building a new home has many positives, but the process can be time-consuming and fraught with information overload. The New South Wales' Government aims to take the guess work out of the planning process with its updated myHome Planner tool, providing key resources to research, plan and design a new home.
Dubbed a "single source of truth," the tool formerly supported project homes and house and land packages, but its expansion now includes knockdown rebuilds to cover all options for building on vacant land.
According to Housing Industry of Australia chief economist, Tim Reardon, knockdown rebuilds currently account for one in four new homes built in Australia.
The NSW Government is supporting moves to reach the NSW National Housing Accord target of 377,000 well-located new homes over the next five years, following reforms to low- and mid-rise housing, which commenced on 1 July this year.
The changes allow applications for dual occupancies and semi-detached dwellings to be submitted in many more R2 residential zones. Other low and mid-rise housing reforms will commence later in 2024.
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The expanded myHome Planner tool is a resource for homeowners, now easing the planning process for those interested in knockdown rebuilds. The aim is to create more dwellings in desirable NSW locations to help meet the National Housing Accord target. Picture: Getty
NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, said it makes sense to provide people with information on what they’re spending their money on.
“With the NSW Planning Portal receiving more than 12 million page views each year, we know people are actively seeking information on building homes,” Mr Scully said.
“By providing myHome Planner, the NSW Government can support people actively seeking information from the NSW Planning Portal by placing it under one single source of truth.”
One single resource
Pooling information from 48 different government sites, the myHome Planner tool acts as a centralised building hub.
Users enter the property's address to gain access to specific, detailed council information, zoning, ratings, easement information, developer guidelines such as building heights and minimum block size, and relevant planning controls such as bushfire and flood risk, and heritage controls.
“This website takes a holistic approach, covering all the steps needed to build a home and is one example of how digital tools can support the delivery of housing targets," NSW minister for customer service and digital government Jihad Dib said.
Infill housing like duplexes are an enticing proposition for homeowners, providing rental income or greatly increasing the sale price. Celebrity renovators Kyal and Kara Demmrich recently built a duplex in Long Jetty on NSW's Central Coast on a lot bought for $1.31m, listing them with guides of $2.5m each. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
Process and budget management via simple checklist
When visiting the website, users will walk through the journey from planning right through to the post-build stage, with a clear online checklist at each stage and explanations of each item.
This includes the property summary stage (planning controls and zoning rules); planning stage (finances, licenses and choosing experts); approval stage (understanding and applying for reports and certificates); demolish stage (notifying neighbours and knocking down the home); build stage (including construction certificates and delays); and the post-build stage (including pre-inspection handover, occupation certificates and any disputes).
Throughout each section, the myHome Planner tool is clear on the financial aspect, helping to estimate the total costs, including land purchase, construction materials, labour, permits and deposits. This can help manage financial budgets by reducing the risks of surprise costs.
It also offers insights on grants, such as the First Home Owner Grant, and provides tools for managing home loans and mortgage options.
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