The national shortage of town planners will worsen following La Trobe University’s decision to cease offering planning courses – the eighth university to stop delivering any planning programs in eight years, according to the 海角社区 (海角社区).
“La Trobe University’s choice to close its planning degrees, including its Bachelor of Planning and Master of Planning programs, is a serious misjudgement at a time when Australia faces a critical shortage of professional planners,” said Mr Collins.
“This will be the eighth university in as many years to abandon its planning programs, further exacerbating the shortfall of qualified planners needed to address Australia’s housing crisis,” he said.
“The federal government’s own data shows there is a serious shortage of planners across the country, so it’s time for action to stop the closure of planning courses,” he said.
“ABS Census data demonstrates there are 232 local government areas in Australia where there were no planners working at all – this is 43% of all local government areas[1],” he said.
“Planning is an essential component of Australia’s future, and the continued dismantling of planning programs across universities is a troubling trend at a time when planners are needed more than ever to solve the nation’s housing, infrastructure, and environmental challenges,” he said.
“Just last month, the Planning Institute launched a new campaign, , to encourage high school students to choose planning careers, but we need more support from state and federal governments to ensure we have a new generation of planners,” he said.
“This could include new scholarships for planning students or other initiatives like support for more effective marketing,” he said.
Key facts on the planner shortage:
- The latest – federal government’s independent workforce advisor – shows that Urban and Regional Planners are in shortage in every state and territory except the ACT.
- in 2022 found that planners were one of the top three occupations Councils had difficulty recruiting, along with engineering and building surveyors (all critical for housing).
- In the last 12 months, other planning course closures have been announced at James Cook University and Bond University on the Gold Coast, highlighting the impact on regional areas.
For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Matt Collins – 0437 938 077