Unlocking housing supply and urban renewal will require new ways of working, stronger coordination across government and industry, and a willingness to test delivery models that can bring projects to life.
Housing delivery is not simply a construction issue, it is a systems challenge.
Planning frameworks, infrastructure provision, financing models, land assembly and development risk all interact to determine whether projects proceed or stall. Through the Committee for Greater Hobart’s work with stakeholders on the cost stack of development, several practical shifts could help move the conversation from policy intent to real delivery
Major infrastructure spending in Tasmania currently sits across multiple departments and government businesses: transport, energy, water, housing and urban infrastructure, and is often planned and delivered in isolation.
A more coordinated approach would treat the state’s capital investment as a single managed portfolio, actively sequencing projects across government agencies and organisations.
In the commercial sector, large capital programs are managed this way to stabilise costs, manage risk and maintain capability across supply chains. Applying similar principles to public infrastructure would allow Tasmania to better align investment with housing growth and broader economic priorities.
This is particularly important in a small market like Tasmania, where the timing of only a handful of major projects can significantly affect labour availability, contractor capacity and construction pricing.
Better coordination would allow government to smooth capital expenditure over time, reduce market shocks and give industry greater confidence to invest in workforce capability and equipment.
Treasury’s Fiscal Strategy Statement refers to the reinstatement of a Strategic Long-Term Infrastructure Pipeline. The opportunity now is to evolve that concept into a more active model of capital coordination across government.
Strategic regional planning processes, including the Southern Tasmania Regional Land Use Strategy, play an important role in identifying where growth should occur.
But plans alone do not deliver housing. What matters is whether those strategies translate into clear policy settings, coordinated infrastructure investment and credible signals to the market.
For Greater Hobart in particular, planning should clearly identify where renewal and infill make the most sense, places close to jobs, education, transport and existing amenity, places like Moonah as an example.
That clarity is not about fast-tracking development. It is about certainty of process. Clear signals give communities confidence about how change will occur, while developers and investors can see where growth will be supported, and critically: the time required to get from feasibility to development.
Without that alignment, growth tends to sprawl outward, pushing households further from employment and increasing infrastructure costs for government.
Across Australia and internationally, cities have learned that one of the most effective ways to build support for urban renewal is simply to demonstrate it.
Well-designed precincts that combine housing diversity, local businesses, public space and cultural activity show communities what density can look like when it is done well, not simply more housing, but vibrant and connected neighbourhoods.
Many cities now use partnership models to deliver this kind of precinct-scale renewal, bringing together housing, commercial activity, creative activation, public space and enabling infrastructure.
South Australia’s Bowden precinct is one example. By demonstrating how medium-density housing, local businesses and public amenity can coexist in a well-designed neighbourhood, it helped shift public confidence in apartment living and mixed-use development.
Tasmania now has the opportunity to pursue similar exemplar precincts.
One idea currently being explored by the Committee for Greater Hobart is a Greater Hobart Renewal Trust, a partnership model that could coordinate and attract private and impact investment to catalyse renewal.
When communities can see the quality of life these places offer, confidence grows among residents, developers and investors alike — helping unlock the next generation of housing and neighbourhood development.
Vision and policy frameworks matter, but cities are ultimately shaped by institutions capable of delivering complex projects.
Tasmania has several strategic redevelopment opportunities, including sites such as Dowsing Point, which require organisations and partnerships capable of coordinating complex projects, bringing together housing diversity, creative uses, commercial activity, transport connections and public amenity.
If Tasmania is serious about unlocking these opportunities, it will need delivery capability that can operate alongside government and the private sector.
At the same time, clarity is needed about the role of Homes Tasmania. The agency carries a significant responsibility managing a large social housing portfolio and responding to the needs of the most vulnerable Tasmanians. Its focus should remain squarely on delivering and maintaining social and critical housing for those who need it most.
Unlocking broader housing supply, including mixed-use precincts, market housing and urban renewal, will require additional delivery mechanisms and partnerships working alongside it.
That approach allows Homes Tasmania to remain focused on its core mission while ensuring new neighbourhoods include a diversity of housing types, reducing the risk of concentrating disadvantage and creating more balanced communities.
What matters now is moving quickly from announcements to practical delivery systems that coordinate infrastructure, unlock investment and demonstrate what well-designed renewal can deliver for communities.
The discussion around Building Tasmania has helped bring these issues into focus.
The next step is ensuring the institutions, partnerships and delivery capability are in place to turn that discussion into real projects and vibrant neighbourhoods across Greater Hobart.
Cam Crawford is Chief Executive of the Committee for Greater Hobart
Also published in The Mercury, Thursday March 12, 2026.
