The Housing Institute of Australia (HIA) has released its 2026 Planning Blueprint Scorecard, ranking the country's states and territories based on their planning system reforms in the 2024/25 financial year.
The HIA's scorecard, which was established in 2024, audits each jurisdiction according to themes from the federal government's 2023 National Planning Reform Blueprint - a 10-point blueprint that sets out a framework for Australia's states and territories to improve their housing supply and affordability. The assessment is scored out of five based on each state's planning strategies and initiatives to achieve their share of the National Housing Accord's target.
According to a release from the HIA, this year's scorecard results reveal "a growing divide between states embracing bold reforms and those stuck in a 'business-as-usual' approach."
In 2026, South Australia and Western Australia tied top position, with both states achieving an aggregate score of three out of five, as they did in the HIA's inaugural 2024 scorecard. The HIA's media release attributes this to large-scale rezoning and land release programs across both states, as well as expanded development assessment panels and exemptions for single houses in WA, and digital innovations for a single planning scheme alongside a land supply dashboard in SA. For similar reasons, SA also fared best in the HIA's 2025 Housing Policy Scoreboard.
Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory tied second in the 2026 planning reforms scorecard, with a score of 2.5 out of 5.0, followed by New South Wales and Tasmania, which both scored 2.0 out of 5.0. Of these results, NSW showed the most progress, advancing from a 2025 score of 1.5, which the HIA attributes to the state's pre-endorsed design pattern books and new development coordination authority. Victoria also improved on their original score of 2.0.
The lowest scores came from Queensland and the Northern Territory, which each achieved 1.5 out of 5.0 - the same score as in 2024.
HIA executive director of planning and development Sam Heckel reflected, "In most parts of the country, we are still seeing a critical disconnect between the housing supply goals of the national cabinet and the ground-level reality of local government delays and restrictive zoning."
"Disappointingly, no jurisdiction has scored greater than three out of five on their planning reforms. HIA is calling for Commonwealth leadership to provide the 'best practice' toolkit - including AI-driven assessment software and design pattern books."
According to Heckel, these initiatives should be supported by planning exemptions and digital portals for planning submissions and land supply monitoring.
In response, the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) warned that the HIA's scorecard approach risks confusing the intensity of each state's reform agendas with the actual performance of their planning systems and the quality of outcomes they are producing.
"Reform is important, but the real measure of success is whether it produces more homes in great communities," PIA CEO Matt Collins commented. "Communities don't experience 'reform'. They experience whether homes get built, how long it takes, what it costs, and whether infrastructure keeps pace."
Collins believes that, to accelerate housing delivery, there needs to be transparency and data on where delays and blockages occur in the delivery pipeline.
"What's missing is a federal government-led national dashboard that brings together comparable housing data on planning and building approvals, construction commencements, completion times and housing delivery constraints," he said. "Until we can see the full picture across the country, we're debating reform activity instead of evaluating performance. We need to track the policy and funding settings that genuinely improve housing outcomes."
The complete results of the 2026 Planning Blueprint Scorecard can be accessed via the Housing Institute of Australia website.
