Understanding Queensland's State Facilitated Development (SFD) Pathway

To meet Queensland's ambitious housing goals, the government has introduced the State Facilitated Development (SFD) pathway. This new process provides a streamlined approach to assessing complex residential development proposals. By bypassing traditional planning hurdles, SFD aims to expedite project approvals, encourage innovative solutions, and contribute to the state's overall housing supply.

One part of the recent Housing Availability and Affordability (Planning and Other Legislation Amendment) Act 2024 (the HAAPOLA Act) amendments to the Planning Act 2016 (Planning Act) has been the introduction of the State Facilitated Development (SFD) assessment pathway.

What is a State Facilitated Development?

A SFD development application is an alternate assessment pathway which aims to deliver development that is a priority to the State. It enables the State to intervene and undertake a bespoke assessment to streamline proposals that are for an urban purpose and identified as a priority to the State. At this time infill and affordable housing is identified as a priority to the State.  

What classifies as SFD?

Residential lead development
Minimum 15% affordable housing
Well-located sites
Must commence within 2 years of approval

Further analysis of the eligibility criteria has been provided in our factsheet. 

Process Overview

The SFD process consists of two main stages:

Stage 1: Preliminary stakeholder engagement, pre-application advice and the Planning Minister’s declaration of the proposal as a SFD application, and
Stage 2: The assessment of the development application for SFD by the Chief Executive of the Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works (the Department).

Stage 1 – Declaration of State Facilitated application by the Minister

This stage does not have any statutory timeframes, which allows for a proponent lead, front loaded application pathway. The key phases are shown below;

Stage 2 – Assessment of the State facilitated application by the Chief Executive

Once the proposal has been declared an SFD by the Minister, the assessment of the proposal is delegated to the Chief Executive of the Department. Timeframes for assessment of an SFD are prescribed by the amendments to the DA Rules.

Is SFD right for your project?

The following criteria should be taken into consideration:

Commencement

It is important to note that SFD prescribe a 2-year currency period. This means that construction of the approval must substantially commence within 2 years, and if this is not adhered to, the approval will be classified as invalid.

Responding to the local planning scheme

The SFD pathway is not bound by the requirements of the local planning scheme however, are likely to be given appropriate regard as part of the assessment process. This flexibility enables developments to be considered against good planning first principles, providing flexibility in the assessment process that considers projects on a case-by-case basis. The relevant local authority will be notified and engaged throughout the assessment process however, their feedback does not hold any statutory weighting in the consideration of the application.

Affordable Housing Component

We note that the delivery of the affordable housing component of the development will be a condition of the approval. It is currently understood that this condition will be time sensitive, requiring the housing to remain affordable for an agreed number of years, post construction.  