Wasted space: Axe car-parking rules to ease the housing crisis
State and local governments typically require new housing to include off-street parking – often much more than residents want, needlessly driving up the price of housing.
grattan.edu.auHere are the latest updates on the Grattan Institute parking report:
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The Grattan Institute released a report in mid-May 2026 urging the removal of parking minimums for new housing and highlighting that more than 40% of parking spaces in apartments in major Australian cities sit unused. They estimate that abolishing these requirements could save about $5.2 billion and enable hundreds of thousands of new housing units. This coverage is echoed by major outlets and Grattan’s own media materials from May 18–19, 2026. [sources: Guardian coverage May 19, 2026; ABC News May 19, 2026; Grattan Institute media releases May 18, 2026][1][2][3]
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Key takeaway: current parking minimums are contributing to higher housing costs and excess supply that sits unused, with calls for state and local governments to remove or relax these rules and to explore alternative parking management (like residential parking permits and separate pricing for parking). These themes are central to the reporting and Grattan’s press materials in May 2026.[2][3][9]
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Context on impact: the reports claim that eliminating parking minimums could reduce the number of off-street parking spaces built (86,000 fewer over five years) and unlock additional housing supply, potentially improving affordability in cities like Sydney and Melbourne.[3][9]
Would you like a concise timeline of the key announcements, or a quick comparison of the main recommendations across outlets ( Guardian, ABC, and Grattan’s own release )? I can also pull a short summary of the estimated financial and housing-quantity impacts.[1][2][3]