Tasmania is increasing the allowable size of secondary dwellings from 60m² to 90m².
On paper, that can look like a modest planning adjustment.
In practice, it may be something else.
At 90m², this is no longer just a “granny flat” in any meaningful housing sense. It begins to operate as a form of distributed infill housing.
That matters because the key issue is no longer simply what can be built. It is who is allowed to live there.
If a secondary dwelling can comfortably support couples, small families, independent adult children, or rental households, then the policy is no longer just about dependent accommodation. It becomes a quiet mechanism for increasing housing density without the political visibility of conventional medium-density reform.
Some of the most consequential housing changes do not arrive as major apartment policy. They arrive disguised as small planning adjustments that expand household formation, backyard infill, and low-visibility density.
The real impact of this change will depend on what follows:
- Who is legally permitted to occupy the dwelling
- Whether independent rental is allowed
- Whether owner-occupier or family-member restrictions remain
- How consistently councils interpret the new rule
Once a granny flat reaches 90m², the real question is no longer what it is called. It is who is allowed to live there.
Source
- ABC News (Tasmania housing / planning coverage)