A national planning approval process initiated by the federal Government’s stimulus package is showing signs of significantly reducing delays in development applications and providing greater certainty for developers.

Maureen Jackson, a director of international construction and development consultants Davis Langdon, said three states had already taken positive steps to cut red tape in approval processes, and others were likely to follow suit.

“Changes to the New South Wales State Environmental Planning Code have the potential to allow development applications to be approved in as little as 10 days,” said Ms Jackson.

“Queensland has initiated a program which allows independent, third-party certifiers to approve low risk developments, which has the potential to reduce time delays and provide greater certainty.

“Victoria is currently reviewing its planning act and is proposing to move to a model which would allow much shorter approval timeframes for a range of applications.

“Western Australia and the Northern Territory are also looking at their approval processes, and we are confident that the South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT will follow the lead of the other states.”

Ms Jackson said the lengthy delays in the planning approval process were one of the key issues facing the development industry nationally.

“The global financial crisis has acted as a catalyst for Governments to act to improve efficiency and certainty in the planning approval process, and there is clearly a new trend developing,” she said.

“The cornerstone of this is the introduction of a national system which assesses a proposal based on its complexity and impact, shifting from the current model of ‘one size fits all’.

"This includes the introduction of a ‘track’ system under which a development application is considered according to its complexity.

"For example, an application for a shed is considered under a different track than an application for a multi-storey residential building."

The proposed changes in New South Wales are the first layer of reform to cut red tape which commenced early in September 2009 with additional exemptions proposed in early 2010.

Queensland reforms include the implementation of a new Sustainable Planning Act, which ensures that planning has a greater emphasis on sustainable outcomes.

Queensland’s shift to private certification is part of a rollout of the “Risk Smart” program which has now been adopted by approximately 10 councils and more are expected to adopt the new system.

Ms Jackson said planning systems and regulations must continually evolve to meet the challenges facing the development industry.

"As a consequence of the global economic crisis and the need to stimulate and encourage development, planning is finally at the forefront of federal and state Government minds and is being revamped for the modern era," she said.

"The review of the planning Acts for numerous states as well as the initiatives to cut red tape is no longer verbiage but actual mechanisms to make planning easier and faster.

"These are all shifts for which the development industry has been lobbying nationally."

 
For further information, contact Meaghan Jones on +61 3 9933 8800 or email mjones2@davislangdon.com.au