The ACT Legislative Assembly has passed changes to planning laws aimed at speeding up housing approvals and making it easier to build additional homes on existing residential blocks.

The amendments to the Planning Act support the government’s missing middle housing reforms, which came into effect on July 1 and allow more low-rise housing, including townhouses, duplexes and terraces.

Under the changes, smaller subdivisions and block consolidations will no longer be classified as significant development, reducing assessment timeframes from 60 days to 30-45 working days and removing a second round of public notification.

Single-dwelling Crown leases will also automatically allow secondary residences, such as granny flats, without requiring a lease variation.

Minor Crown lease variations, including changes to permitted dwelling numbers, will be assessed through an exempt development process, reducing approval times to 10 days.

However, development applications will still be required for the design and siting of additional homes.

Planning Minister Chris Steel says the changes will also speed up approvals for subdivisions and block consolidations on RZ1 blocks, which have been permitted under the missing middle reforms since July.

The government says the amendments form part of its broader housing reforms aimed at enabling 30,000 new homes by 2030.

News all day, every day at CityNews.com.au.