- The Crisafulli Government announces reset of State Facilitated Development (SFD) pathway to unlock supply and fix Labor's Housing Crisis.
- Reforms will enable access for all types of development predominantly for housing, and supported by local governments, to progress under SFD pathway.
- Revised pathway will help reset Labor's failed approach to housing, designed to steamroll local governments and local decision-making.
- The Crisafulli Government is delivering a plan for Queensland's future, after a decade of decline under Labor.
The Crisafulli Government is taking decisive action to fix Labor's Housing Crisis by unlocking land faster, accelerating housing supply and continuing to reset planning partnerships with councils so more Queenslanders have a place to call home sooner.
New reforms to Labor's failed State Facilitated Development (SFD) pathway will cut red tape, restore local decision-making and make it easier for councils and industry to work together to deliver the homes Queenslanders urgently need.
The Planning (State Facilitated Development) Amendment Regulation 2026 commences today, amending the Planning Regulation 2017 to reset the eligibility criteria for projects that can access the SFD pathway, established under the former Labor Government.
The SFD reset represents a fundamental reform of a failed planning pathway that was designed by Labor to steamroll local governments and strip councils of a meaningful role in decision making for local communities across Queensland.
The reforms reaffirm the Crisafulli Government's commitment to boosting all types of housing supply to put downward pressure on prices and to deliver a place to call home for more Queenslanders.
Under the reformed pathway, all types of development predominantly for housing and that meet zoning requirements, will be able to progress through the SFD process, where they are supported by local government.
The reforms will enable a broader mix of dwelling types, creating more housing choice for Queenslanders while increasing supply to put downward pressure on property prices.
The SFD reset is one of many Crisafulli Government reforms to help fix Labor's Housing Crisis and give more Queenslanders a place to call home, including the $2 billion Residential Activation Fund, the nation-leading Land Activation Program and delivering new regional plans in every corner of Queensland.
Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said while projects stalled under Labor, the Crisafulli Government was supercharging housing supply by removing the red tape and bottlenecks that were choking new supply.
"The Crisafulli Government is using every lever at its disposal to increase housing supply to improve availability and affordability," Deputy Premier Bleijie said.
"Labor's failed approach to planning presided over a 29 per cent fall in housing lot approvals and the lowest home ownership rate in the country.
"Unlike Labor's record of riding roughshod over councils, the reformed SFD pathway requires proponents to secure written support from the relevant local government before a development can progress for declaration.
"This reform restores respect for councils, strengthens local decision-making and demonstrates the Crisafulli Government's commitment to working hand-in-glove with local governments to unlock land for housing."
The changes respond directly to advocacy from the Local Government Association of Queensland and resolutions from its 2025 Annual Conference, which called for clearer criteria, stronger council involvement and a review of the SFD process. Under the new rules, developments cannot proceed without local government support.
The reforms deliver on the Queensland Productivity Commission's Recommendation 26 to streamline approvals, remove unnecessary red tape and put downward pressure on development costs.
Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) CEO Alison Smith said since the introduction of the State Facilitated Development process in 2024, the LGAQ and Queensland councils had consistently called for improved council engagement and involvement in the assessment process.
"We are pleased to see changes to the State Facilitated Development process that now enable meaningful local government participation," Ms Smith said.
"These amendments align with the Equal Partners in Government Agreement, and we welcome the continued cooperative and positive relationship between the Queensland Government and local governments."
Queensland Property Council Executive Director Jess Caire said quicker and clearer planning decisions meant more housing, more quickly.
"The Queensland Productivity Commission's blueprint for the development sector identified significant opportunities to streamline approvals, particularly for major projects that are essential if we are to catch up and meaningfully boost housing supply," Ms Caire said.
"This reform responds directly to that recommendation, and we welcome the government's swift action to turn reform into homes on the ground, sooner, across all product types."
UDIA Chief Executive Officer Kirsty Chessher-Brown said as Queenslanders knew well, the state was currently experiencing shortages of all forms of housing, as well as swiftly increasing construction costs.
"Honing directly in on the processes and opportunities that are still open to industry to get on with our job of delivering housing is what is needed, and the State Facilitated Development process creates a pathway for exactly that," Ms Chessher-Brown said.
"It's no secret that assessment timeframes are a key input to the cost of housing and an alternate pathway offers an opportunity for eligible applications to effectively reduce risk and uncertainty and ultimately, deliver housing sooner.
"We need to collectively pull every lever available to increase housing supply in places and formats where it is feasible and offers a viable opportunity to provide homes that Queenslanders can live in now and into the future."
Under the amended regulation, the eligibility criteria for declaring an application as a SFD has been expanded to:
the development must be for predominantly residential development; and
the premises the subject of the application are either of the following:
completely within a zone supporting residential development.
are not within an environmental zone or a limited development zone, and the Minister is satisfied the premises are or can be readily serviced by infrastructure for the development.
