New South Wales 2023 Budget - Quick guide for the built environment

Announced by Treasurer Daniel Mookhey on 19 September, the New South Wales 2023-24 State Budget has a strong focus on critical infrastructure with commitment to invest $116.5 billion in the Essential Infrastructure Plan over the next 4 years providing strong opportunities for the built environment industry and positive outcomes for communities. We provide a summary below of key items in the budget that are particularly relevant to our industry.

Housing

The Government’s $2.2 billion Housing and Infrastructure Plan seeks to address long-term housing supply across the state. The key elements of the Plan include a reinvestment of $300 million in Landcom to deliver an additional 1,409 affordable homes and 3,288 market homes, a $60 million investment in Landcom to deliver approximately 100 build-to-rent homes in the South Coast and Northern Rivers regions, a commitment of $400 million reserved in Restart NSW for the new Housing Infrastructure Fund, and a $224 million investment in the Essential Housing Package.

The Essential Housing Package will see the establishment of Homes NSW, and will include key commitments of $70 million in interest-free debt financing for NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) to enable the accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing in regional areas, $35 million to LAHC to enable critical maintenance of existing social housing infrastructure, and $20 million reserved in Restart NSW for dedicated mental health accommodation. In support of communities impacted by natural disasters, $96 million will go to LAHC to deliver social housing across flood impacted locations in Northern New South Wales. An additional $10 million will support a pilot program for delivering modular social housing and investigate the potential for off-site manufacturing to expedite the delivery process.

Faster Planning Program

With a focus on enhancing efficiency of planning systems, the $38.7 million Faster Planning program includes $24 million to establish the NSW Building Commission to provide regulation and oversight of the construction industry to support high quality housing. It also includes an investment of $9.1 million to assess housing supply opportunities across existing government-owned sites, with a mandate to set aside 30% of surplus government land for new social and affordable housing.

Health

Demonstrating a commitment to rebuilding the state’s essential health services, the Essential Infrastructure Plan includes a significant investment of $13.8 billion in health facilities over the next four years.

Western Sydney

A strong focus on providing new and upgraded hospitals in Western Sydney includes a $3 billion investment which will deliver 600 new hospital beds.

This investment includes a continued commitment of $1.3 billion for the New Bankstown Hospital, and an increase in funding from $300 million to $700 million for the Rouse Hill Hospital development to enable expanded scope including emergency department, maternity and women’s health services and day surgery unit.

The budget will also enable significant expansion and redevelopment works, with $550 million going to the expansion of Fairfield Hospital to deliver increased beds and emergency and critical care capacity, $350 million enabling the first major redevelopment of Canterbury Hospital in 25 years, and $120 million to provide additional bed capacity at Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals.

Regional Communities

The budget seeks to improve access to high-quality healthcare in regional communities, with a commitment of $3.8 billion to support new and upgraded health facilities. Key points of investment will include $538 million for Albury Wodonga Regional Hospital to increase patient safety and service capability, $260 million for Eurobodalla Regional Hospital to provide updated and enhanced capacity, $200 million for Bathurst Hospital to address current constraints and support the implementation of more contemporary models of care. Moree Hospital and Glenn Innes Hospital will receive investments of $80 million and $50 million respectively, to allow them to deliver critical redevelopment and upgrade works whilst remaining operational.

Education

A $9.8 billion investment in education and skills infrastructure will enable the development of over 40 new and 85 upgraded primary and high schools and 100 new preschools over the next 4 years.

Western Sydney is again a focus for infrastructure development, with an investment of $3.5 billion set to deliver 24 new and 51 upgraded primary and high schools, including new high schools for Jordan Springs, Schofields/Tallawong, Gregory Hills/Gledswood Hills, Leppington/Denham Court and Melrose Park, and a new primary school for Sydney Olympic Park.

Similarly, regional New South Wales will receive a boost in education infrastructure, with $1.4 billion committed for the development of 19 new and 35 upgraded schools, including upgrades to Vincentia and Jerrabomberra High Schools, new high schools at Medowie and Googong, and a new primary school at South Nowra.

A significant investment in early childhood education includes $769 million for the delivery of 100 new public preschools, with a commitment to ensure that a preschool is delivered alongside every new primary school. An additional $60 million is allocated to support the development of new and upgraded non-government preschools.

Transport

A commitment of $72.3 billion for the delivery of new and improved transport infrastructure statewide includes a $7.9 billion investment over four years to connect the Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport, with six new stations planned to service the future Western Sydney International Airport. $200 million has also been allocated for expedited planning of the procurement, construction, and delivery of Parramatta Light Rail Stage 2 project in Western Sydney. A move to upgrade train station car parks and enhance accessibility of stations has attracted an investment of $300 million.

Arts & Community

Key arts and community infrastructure investments include $250 million to revitalise the 1870s heritage Powerhouse Museum building in Ultimo, and $30 million for the Level the Playing Field Facilities Fund to develop new and upgraded facilities to empower women to participate in sport.

Sources: NSW Budget 2023-24 - Overview: Our plan for NSW, ABC: The winners and losers in the 2023 New South Wales Budget, Budget Paper No. 3 - Infrastructure Statement