Policy & planning changes

​​Proposed changes to student accommodation planning controls​

Recognising the needs of purpose-built housing for students.

Open for feedback

We invite your feedback on this proposal.

Public consultation period to

What we’re doing

We plan to make changes to the Sydney Development Control Plan 2012 to recognise the design and operational needs of purpose-built student accommodation. This includes:

  • updated standards for student room sizes and layouts
  • more flexible requirements for in-room facilities and storage where high-quality shared facilities are provided
  • revised bicycle parking rates in highly accessible locations.

The changes would work alongside controls for co-living housing and boarding houses.

Draft development control planPDF · 960.52 KB · Last modified

How you can give feedback

Consultation closes at 5pm on Tuesday 27 October 2026.

  1. Complete our survey

    You’ll need to log in with a City of Sydney account to complete the survey. If you don’t have an account, it’s easy to create one.

  2. Email or post your feedback

    You can give your feedback by email to [email protected] or post to:

    Angela Smidmore
    City of Sydney
    456 Kent Street
    Sydney NSW 2000

    Feedback quote ‘Reference X095910.006 – Student Accommodation’.

  3. Talk to us

How to have your say

Anyone can give feedback. Your feedback must: 

  • be in writing and include the development address or application number 
  • include your contact details (postal or email address) so we can acknowledge receipt 
  • be submitted during the public consultation period. 

We may discuss applications over the phone, but these conversations are not considered feedback. 

All feedback we receive will be considered and summarised in reports. We won’t consider anonymous feedback. 

Your feedback is not confidential and may be accessed under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). We may use your name or address when responding to concerns about a planning proposal or development application. In some cases, your feedback may be provided to the NSW Government, which manages its own publication process. 

If you submit feedback on behalf of an organisation, the organisation’s name will be published in reports unless you request otherwise. 

For more details, see our community engagement strategy and community participation plan.

Other ways you can give feedback

Next steps

We will report all feedback to Council and Central Sydney Planning Committee.

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