Australia’s parking minimums waste billions, drive up housing costs, and should be scrapped
Consensus Summary
Two news articles from the Guardian and ABC report that Australia’s mandatory parking minimums for new housing developments are wasteful, costing billions and driving up rents. The Grattan Institute’s analysis finds that 86,000 unused car parking spaces will be built over the next five years, costing $5.2 billion, while 40% of parking spaces in apartment buildings remain empty. Both sources agree that parking minimums add tens of thousands of dollars to housing costs across major cities, reducing supply and increasing rents, particularly for low-income tenants. The report recommends abolishing these minimums and replacing them with targeted policies like parking permit schemes, time limits, and user charges. State governments are urged to intervene to remove councils’ authority to impose parking requirements, following New Zealand’s 2020 reform. The Guardian also highlights resistance from councils due to public backlash and suggests unbundling parking spaces to allow independent leasing, while the ABC notes that developers rarely exceed minimum requirements due to cost. Both articles emphasize that parking minimums, introduced in the 1950s, fail to address modern urban needs and should be scrapped to boost housing affordability and reduce car dependency.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- The Grattan Institute report estimates Australia risks wasting $5.2 billion over the next five years by building 86,000 unwanted car parking spaces.
- Parking minimums add $70,000 to the cost of building a typical two-bedroom apartment in Sydney, $62,000 in Melbourne, $113,000 in Brisbane, $137,000 in Perth, and $95,000 in Adelaide.
- About 40% of Australian households in studio or one-bedroom apartments do not own a car, and 40% of parking spaces under apartment buildings in Australia sit empty every night.
- The Grattan Institute recommends scrapping parking minimums entirely and replacing them with policies like parking permit schemes, time limits, and user charges in high-demand areas.
- The report estimates scrapping parking minimums would result in 140,000 more dwellings becoming commercially viable in Sydney and Melbourne alone.
- Parking minimums were originally imposed in the 1950s and remain common nationwide, embedded in local council planning rules.
- The Grattan Institute recommends state governments intervene to remove councils’ power to impose parking requirements, citing New Zealand’s 2020 reform as an example.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Dominic Behrens, a housing researcher and co-author of the report, stated that parking minimums make it harder for developers to profit, reducing housing supply and increasing rents, particularly burdening low-income tenants.
- The report recommends 'unbundling' parking spaces so they can be bought or leased independently of the property, requiring changes to strata bylaws that sometimes restrict leasing out parking.
- David Mepham, author of *Rethinking Parking*, noted that councils fear public backlash when reducing parking minimums, with residents and traders often pressuring politicians to maintain them.
- The Grattan report builds on a 2025 recommendation to reform zoning rules to permit three-story apartments on all residential land in capital cities.
- The report found that 19% of two-bedroom apartment households in Australia’s capital cities do not own a car, rising to 40% for one-bedroom and studio apartments.
- Developers rarely build more car parks than legally required due to the high cost, and parking minimums were designed to prevent street parking but are ineffective, according to the report.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian states parking minimums require an average of 0.6 car spaces per bedroom in Sydney, while the ABC does not mention this specific ratio.
Source Articles
Scrapping 86,000 new car parking spaces could save $5.2bn and drive down rents, Grattan report finds
About 40% of parking spaces under apartments in Australia sit empty, yet strict planning rules mean more unwanted spots continue to be built Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australia risks squandering $5.2bn by building 86,000 unwanted car parking spaces in the next five years, according to research by the Grattan Institute. The report recommends urgent reform to planning rules, including scrapping a requirement for a minimum number of car parking spaces per bedroom
Australia is wasting $1 billion on car parks nobody uses, report finds
Australia is wasting more than $1 billion each year building off-street car parks that end up sitting unused and unwanted, a Grattan report has found.