Homes NSW now has planning controls for up to 213 homes on vacant government land 1.5 kilometres from the Tamworth CBD. The rezoning is the easy part. What follows runs through a subdivision plan due in 2027 and a city still settling its long term water supply.
The NSW Government has finalised the rezoning of 15.5 hectares of vacant government land in East Tamworth, enabling up to 213 new homes about 1.5 kilometres from the CBD.
At least 30 per cent will be social and affordable housing. That is more than 70 homes in a city where more than 600 households are on the social housing waitlist.
It is a genuine step. It is also the first of several. For builders across the New England and North West, the useful questions sit after the announcement: when the land reaches the market, who builds on it, and what could slow it down.
What the East Tamworth rezoning allows
The site is bounded by Daruka Road and Piper Street. It brings together former TAFE NSW land with neighbouring Crown and council land identified as surplus through the statewide land audit.
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has amended the Tamworth Regional Local Environmental Plan 2010 to allow buildings of one to three storeys, a minimum 30 per cent social and affordable share, and shared pathways connecting to the Victoria Park Precinct.
The final footprint is one hectare smaller than the 16.5 hectares exhibited in May. The department received 147 submissions, and following that feedback the area was trimmed to reduce environmental impacts and protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Around two thirds of the homes will be built and owned by private buyers. Homes NSW will fund and deliver the utility, stormwater, local road and parking upgrades in step with development, working with Tamworth Regional Council.
The land includes the former TAFE parcel covered in our report on the former TAFE site last November. The two announcements describe overlapping land, not separate projects.
A rezoning is not a registered lot
Homes NSW says it will now prepare detailed subdivision plans. It expects to exhibit the Stage 1 subdivision plan in 2027.
That sequence matters to anyone pricing future work. A subdivision has to be exhibited and approved, civil works delivered and lots registered before a private buyer signs a building contract. On the published timeline, house construction on the site sits beyond 2027.
The rezoning went through the social and affordable housing rezoning pathway, which is reserved for the state’s housing agencies. The pathway compresses the planning step. It does not compress the civil works that follow.
The pathway compresses the planning step. It does not compress the civil works that follow.
The state’s own numbers show the same gap at scale. As of September, the Housing Delivery Authority had declared 492 proposals state significant, covering more than 152,000 potential homes. According to the NSW Government, twenty had been approved and ten had started construction.
What is the social and affordable housing rezoning pathway?
The social and affordable housing rezoning pathway is a NSW planning process for the state’s housing agencies, Homes NSW and Landcom. It lets their rezoning proposals for social and affordable housing be assessed and finalised by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure on an accelerated basis. It changes what can be built on the land. It does not approve a subdivision or a building, which still follow the normal approval steps.
Tamworth’s housing pipeline runs through its water supply
Tamworth Regional Council states that even without growth, there is a real risk the city could run out of water in a severe and prolonged drought. Its supply depends on rainfall.
The council’s Water Security Plan was originally scheduled for completion in December 2025. Its project page now lists the draft plan as still being prepared, with exhibition dates to be confirmed.
Water came up directly during the East Tamworth exhibition. Gunnedah Shire Council resolved in May to lodge a submission opposing the rezoning, citing a lack of information about water supply. Gunnedah also opposes state investigations into pipelines that could move water to Tamworth from Keepit and Split Rock dams.
Those investigations sit within a preliminary business case on intervalley pipelines and off river storages run by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The department has also said raising the town water reserve in Chaffey Dam could extend Tamworth’s supply by up to eight months.
Water already shapes yield locally. The council’s draft regional housing strategy, released in 2024, found that of 1,836 theoretical two hectare rural residential lots, only 223 were practically available once vegetation and planning controls, particularly water supply limits, were considered.
The final East Tamworth package includes a utility servicing strategy and an infrastructure delivery plan for the site. The rezoning has been made. The citywide supply question remains open.
Regional NSW has a pipeline of government land rezonings
East Tamworth is one of several regional precincts moving through state led channels in the past 18 months.
| Precinct | Lead | Homes enabled | Social or affordable share | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Tamworth | Homes NSW | Up to 213 | At least 30 per cent social and affordable | Rezoning finalised October 2026 |
| Redmond Place, Orange | Landcom with Orange City Council | 330 at rezoning | 20 per cent affordable | Rezoned April 2025 |
| Nowra Riverfront and Mandalay | State led, includes Homes NSW land | Up to 900 | At least 30 per cent on Homes NSW land, 2 per cent on private land | Finalised June 2026 |
| Kiama depot | Council land | Around 380 | At least 10 per cent affordable in perpetuity | Finalised June 2026 |
Sources: NSW Planning Portal; NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure; NSW Government media releases, April 2025 to October 2026.
Orange shows the pace once a rezoning is made. Redmond Place was the first proposal finalised under the pathway, in April 2025. Landcom, which now markets the estate as Redleaf, schedules development approval, construction start and first land sales in 2026, with subdivision registration in 2027.
The land audit is also surfacing smaller regional parcels. A February tranche included 7.1 hectares at Muswellbrook for up to 68 homes and 2.8 hectares at Inverell for 11, a pattern we tracked in our coverage of the land audit pipeline.
What government land releases mean for regional builders
On sites like East Tamworth, work arrives in two forms. The social and affordable homes are procured through the state housing agency. The private lots are sold to buyers who then engage their own builder.
The second stream is the contract most regional builders already write. The difference is a design framework set at precinct level, staged lot releases, and a timeline controlled by government rather than a private developer.
Staging also shapes trade demand. Two hundred homes released across several stages arrive as a steadier flow than a single release, in regions where skilled labour is tighter than the national average.
THE GOOD BUILDER TAKE
Rezoning announcements count homes enabled. Builders count lots registered. Between the two sit a subdivision approval, civil works and, in Tamworth, a water supply the council itself describes as vulnerable in drought.
The East Tamworth decision is real progress on well located land. The signals that will show when it becomes work are the Stage 1 subdivision exhibition in 2027 and the release of the draft Water Security Plan.
Rezoned land is the start of the pipeline, not the end
Regional NSW is not short of rezoned land. The state has been adding to it steadily, and East Tamworth puts 213 more homes on paper close to a regional CBD.
What decides how many actually get built is the sequence that comes after. In Tamworth, that sequence runs through water as much as through planning.
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Frequently asked questions
Up to 213 homes under the finalised rezoning. At least 30 per cent must be social and affordable housing, which the NSW Government puts at more than 70 homes. Buildings are limited to one to three storeys.
No construction start date has been set. Homes NSW expects to exhibit the Stage 1 subdivision plan in 2027. House construction follows subdivision approval, civil works and lot registration.
Around two thirds of the homes will be built and owned by private buyers on lots released from the site. The social and affordable homes will be delivered through Homes NSW.
Tamworth Regional Council states there is a real risk the city could run out of water in a severe and prolonged drought, even without growth. Its Water Security Plan is still in draft, and the state is investigating pipelines and off river storages. Gunnedah Shire Council opposed the rezoning, citing a lack of water supply information.
Related articles
- From Vacant to Vibrant: Tamworth’s Former TAFE Site to Deliver 89 New Homes
- NSW Finds 670 More Homes on Government Land in Western Sydney’s Fastest Growing Corridor
Last updated: 15 October 2026
General Information Only: This article is intended for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal or financial advice. The Good Builder is not a law firm or a licensed financial adviser. Readers should seek appropriate professional guidance before acting on any information contained herein.
Author: TGB Editorial
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