Supporting current regulatory frameworks as essential safeguards

While the call for deregulation grows louder, many experts and advocates argue that Australia's regulatory frameworks exist for good reason: they protect the environment, ensure building safety, and give communities a voice in development. Planning and zoning laws prevent haphazard growth that could strain infrastructure or harm natural habitats. Environmental impact assessments, though time-consuming, have stopped projects that would have caused irreversible damage to sensitive ecosystems. Building codes, while complex, have improved structural integrity and energy efficiency, saving lives and reducing long-term costs. The issue, they say, is not the regulations themselves but chronic underfunding and inefficiency within approval agencies. With more resources for planning departments and better training for assessors, many delays could be eliminated without lowering standards. Community consultation, often blamed for slowing projects, ensures that new developments fit local character and address genuine concerns like traffic or school capacity. Removing or weakening these safeguards could lead to a race to the bottom, where short-term profit trumps long-term public good. Governments should focus on streamlining processes—such as introducing concurrent approvals and digital lodgment—rather than gutting protections. For housing supply to increase sustainably, quality must not be sacrificed for speed.