FAQs
- a new town centre and multiple shopping precincts, each with a main street, providing focal points for residents and visitors
- a variety of housing types and densities, including affordable homes
- areas of open space for recreation that also protect and enhance the environment
- greater tree protections and more plantings
- a new 24 ha employment zone for business, commercial and low-impact, light-industrial activities.
- schools (at least 1 secondary school and 4 primary schools with integrated pre-school)
- local community centres and sports and recreation reserves
- district level open space and community centre.
- Level 9, 83 Pirie Street, Adelaide
- 43-51 Tanunda Road, Nuriootpa
- Barossa Valley Way, Lyndoch
- 43 High Street, Gawler East
- Kapunda Head Office at 93 Main Street, Kapunda
- Freeling Development Office at 12 Hanson Street, Freeling.
What is a Code Amendment?
The Planning and Design Code contains the planning rules and policies that guide what can be developed in South Australia.
These planning rules are used by councils and other planning authorities to assess development proposals.
A Code amendment is a proposal to change the policies, rules or mapping within the Code, which can change the way that future developments are assessed.
Why has land at Concordia been identified for rezoning?
The Concordia Code Amendment proposes to rezone about 995 ha of land at Concordia, near Gawler, to provide about 10,000 to 12,000 additional homes for South Australians in a new master-planned community.
Concordia was first identified as a housing growth area in the 30-year Plan for Greater Adelaide, published in 2010 and again in 2017. The area was most recently identified in the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan, published in 2025.
The South Australian Minister for Planning has now determined that the demand for housing in Adelaide warrants the release of this land for development.
The Concordia Code Amendment is part of the South Australian Government’s Housing Roadmap, delivering more residential land allotments to market and providing more affordable homes for South Australians.
Rezoning land at Concordia is part of the single largest release of residential land in the state’s history, including land at Onkaparinga Heights, Sellicks Beach and Dry Creek.
How do the proposed new planning rules support a diverse, vibrant new community at Concordia?
Draft changes to the planning rules aim to support a vibrant community with:
New planning rules would also provide greater tree protections during and after development, as well as require trees to be planted with new housing.
A new way to reserve land for the key community facilities and services needed to support future residents is also proposed as part of the rezoning process.
Why has land been identified to be rezoned to ‘Master Planned Neighbourhood Zone’?
About 971 ha of land in the Concordia growth area has been identified to be rezoned to the Master Planned Neighbourhood Zone.
This zone enables well-planned residential development with key community services and facilities, such as schools, community centres, emergency services and open space.
Community facilities are encouraged to be located near each other in ‘activity centres’ to create focal points for the community.
The planning rules are flexible about where these facilities and land uses are located within the zone, allowing neighbourhoods to respond to changing needs as areas develop.
What is the new ‘Emerging Main Street Subzone’?
The new Emerging Main Street Subzone is proposed to be applied across the whole Master Planned Neighbourhood Zone.
This new subzone would guide development of activity centres, with one centrally located neighbourhood-level activity centre and three smaller local activity centres planned for the Concordia growth area.
Each activity centre would include a main street as focal point and be surrounded by medium-to-high density residential development.
The location of these activity centres is guided by a concept plan, enabling flexibility in where the final boundaries of the activity centres are defined as they evolve.
Why has land been identified to be rezoned to ‘Employment Zone’?
About 24 ha on the southern side of Ironbark Road are proposed to be rezoned from Rural Zone to Employment Zone.
This area is expected to provide employment opportunities and services for the community through a diverse range of low-impact light industrial, commercial and business activities.
What types of homes and what density of housing is proposed in the Concordia growth area?
Draft changes to the planning rules support a variety of housing types and densities across the growth area.
Each activity centre would be surrounded by medium-to-high density housing, providing easy access to local services such as retail, medical, community and recreational facilities.
Medium density housing, which could include detached homes, semi-detached houses, townhouses, row houses or apartment buildings, could also be located near public open space.
Residential neighbourhoods would consist of lower density housing.
About 15 per cent of homes across the Concordia growth area are anticipated to be affordable homes, meaning the maximum sale price is $495,000-$569,250 and rentals are offered at less than 75 per cent of the market rate. For more information, visit housing.sa.gov.au/affordable-housing/affordable-homes
How does the land use concept plan guide the provision of social infrastructure such as schools, community facilities and emergency services?
A land use concept plan for the Concordia growth area includes a new way to reserve land for the key community services and facilities needed to support future residents.
The concept plan identifies the key features of the master-planned community and the preferred locations for social infrastructure, including:
The minimum amount of land that needs to be reserved for education and emergency services facilities is outlined.
For more information about how land is reserved for social infrastructure in the Concordia growth area, view our fact sheet: Reserving land for key community facilities and services in Concordia.
How will funding be secured to deliver the social infrastructure?
The proposed new planning rules and concept plan to enable reserving land for key community facilities and services is intended to be supported by social infrastructure deeds, which establish a legal agreement with the South Australian Government and Barossa Council to secure necessary land.
How will the basic infrastructure needed to support the new community be planned for?
The Department for Housing and Urban Development has worked with state and local government, landowners and service providers to identify the infrastructure needed to support a new community.
Work is underway to develop an infrastructure scheme for the Concordia growth area that outlines the type of basic infrastructure that will be provided, such as roads, utilities and stormwater infrastructure.
It also details who will fund the infrastructure and when it will be delivered to ensure infrastructure is available in-line with development.
This will be the first infrastructure delivery scheme introduced in South Australia.
The Concordia Growth Area Infrastructure Scheme Draft Outline identifies the scope and further investigations required to develop the infrastructure scheme.
The South Australian Government is now working to appoint the Scheme Coordinator to oversee developing the infrastructure scheme.
Rezoning will not occur until infrastructure requirements, costs, funding arrangements and timing in-line with stages of the development have been finalised.
For more information about the basic infrastructure scheme for Concordia growth area, view:
How does the basic infrastructure concept plan guide the provision of infrastructure in the Concordia growth area?
As part of proposed changes to the planning rules, a new concept plan will help guide the provision of basic infrastructure.
The concept plan shows the preferred location for infrastructure such as roads, stormwater infrastructure and embankments, aligning with plans that underpin the infrastructure scheme.
Including this information as part of the planning rules for the Concordia growth area will highlight the need for infrastructure and help ensure the location for planned infrastructure is considered during development.
How will developments be coordinated with the infrastructure scheme?
In parallel with developing the state’s first infrastructure scheme, work is underway to determine the best way to ensure the infrastructure scheme is considered as part of assessing development applications.
This is required to protect the land needed to deliver basic infrastructure and ensure the assumptions and capacity of the planned infrastructure remain consistent with the growth area’s development.
This link between development applications and the infrastructure scheme will ensure land division and other developments do not occur in a way that impacts delivering future infrastructure through the scheme.
While details of how development applications will link with the infrastructure scheme are still being finalised, the process will require development applications in the Concordia growth area to be referred to the Scheme Coordinator to ensure development is consistent with the scheme.
Where can I view a hard copy of the draft Concordia Code Amendment?
You can view a hard copy of the draft Concordia Code Amendment during standard opening hours at the following locations.
Department for Housing and Urban Development office:
Barossa Council offices:
The Town of Gawler office:
Light Regional Council offices:
