With Australia working towards the National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new well-located homes over five years, and the Australian Government’s new $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund putting fresh focus on the roads, pipes, power, drainage and transport links needed to unlock new housing, local government is under growing pressure to help deliver homes while planning for the communities that will live in them.
For the first time, the National Growth Areas Alliance will bring together local government leaders from Australia’s emerging and established growth areas to share practical experience on what ittakes to manage rapid growth well.
The 2026 Emerging Growth Areas Forum will be held on Tuesday 4 August at Hume City Council Town Hall in Broadmeadows, alongside the NGAA National Congress. The Forum will connect Mayors, Councillors, CEOs and senior council officers who are facing rapid population growth, major residential development and rising expectations from current and future communities.
NGAA Chair Mayor Terresa Lynes said the timing of the Forum reflects the reality facing councils across the country.
“The housing challenge is no longer a distant policy issue. It is being felt every day in the fastest growing parts of Australia, where councils are working hard to support new homes while also planning the infrastructure, services and community facilities that make those homes part of a liveable community,” Mayor Lynes said.
“This new national investment in housing-enabling infrastructure is welcome, but funding alone will not deliver the kind of communities Australians need. Councils need the capacity, evidence, partnerships and practical know-how to turn housing ambition into places where people can thrive.”
The Forum will focus on the practical questions that sit behind housing delivery, including organisational readiness, infrastructure sequencing, service planning, working with developers, building community trust and making the case for State and Federal investment.
NGAA CEO Bronwen Clark said the Forum recognises that many councils are entering a period of growth that others have been navigating for decades.
“Local government is being asked to help deliver more housing at pace, but good growth is about more than land release and approvals. It is about thinking ahead to the roads, drainage, schools, early years services, libraries, sporting facilities, public transport and community spaces that people will need from day one,” Ms Clark said.
“This is the right moment to bring local government leaders together because the pressure to deliver new homes has never been greater, and the consequences of getting growth wrong last for generations. Councils that have been through this journey have valuable lessons to share with those now facing the same challenges.”
The 2026 Emerging Growth Areas Forum will draw on the experience of growth councils from across Australia, including established outer metropolitan growth areas and councils now preparing for rapid population change.
Sessions will cover organisational capacity for rapid growth, leading communities through change, working with developers planning services for future populations and the push and pull of advocacy.
The Forum will be held from 10.00 am to4.30 pm on Tuesday 4 August 2026 at Hume City Council Town Hall, Broadmeadows, followed by networking.
Registration is now open for mayors, councillors, council CEOs, general managers and senior executives from councils experiencing rapid population growth or preparing for future growth.
