Under large reforms by the NSW Government many common developments are excluded from public exhibition. Photos: ESC website.
As of 1 September, Eurobodalla Shire Council can no longer notify or publicly exhibit the most common types of development applications (DAs) it receives. Any submissions received on those excluded types of DAs will not be considered a formal submission and do not need to be considered during the assessment of the DA.
The changes are part of the Planning Reforms Act 2025 that the NSW Government passed last year after research found that many saw the NSW planning system as overly complex, a major contributor to delays and slowing the delivery of new homes, hindering investment, and adding unnecessary costs.
Council acting assessment manager Katrena Fuller briefed councillors on four of nine key reforms at a workshop on 8 September.
The first she outlined was the statewide Community Participation Plan (CPP) which mandates community consultation processes for the planning functions of council.
Planning functions include planning proposals, development control plans (DCPs), local strategic planning statements, master plans and development assessment including all DAs, modifications and reviews. The plan mandates when and/or if council can exhibit and, if so, defines the minimum number of calendar days.
A key point is the types of development that are excluded from public exhibition under the statewide CPP, namely dual occupancy, attached dwellings, dwelling houses, multi-dwelling housing, and subdivisions (as per the top image).
These form a substantial proportion of developments that council receives and commonly attract submissions from neighbouring property owners about parking, shadowing, privacy and view loss.
How exhibition and notification have changed under the statewide Community Participation Plan.
If a submission is lodged for any excluded type of development in the statewide CPP it is not considered a formal submission and does not need to be considered during the assessment of the application. Ms Fuller said that was why it was very important that council had very strong and robust DCPs and policies that clearly defined what council would and would not accept.
Council made a submission and raised concerns when the draft state government reforms were exhibited for consultation.
When asked if the statewide CPP would speed up council’s planning process, council’s director of planning, housing and environment Gary Bruce said he did not think it necessarily would as there have been newspaper articles about the number of developments that are approved, but haven’t started construction, and a lot of evidence suggests that the approval pathway is not the problem.
Mr Bruce said it was going to be a very different world for the community. The first time they could learn of a neighbouring development would be when the builders arrived.
There is very limited opportunity to appeal. It is a judicial process, must be within a certain time after the DA’s approval, and only concerns the DA process followed, not its contents. Mr Bruce wants community involvement in council’s review of the DCP.
Ms Fuller also spoke about the Housing Delivery Authority that was established in December 2024 to speed up the delivery of major residential projects in NSW. It considers developments valued above $30 million for more than 40 homes. The Housing Delivery Authority allows the minister to declare large residential and mixed-use developments as state significant, allowing a fast-tracked assessment pathway.
Another change is the Development Coordination Authority. It came into effect on 1 July, with the second phase due in October. It creates a “one-stop shop” for technical expertise to support the planning functions of consent authorities instead of referring to multiple state agencies. It has a mandatory 28-day response time. A $1100 fee is payable for every referral. It would apply to even small things such as a new deck in a bushfire-prone area.
The fourth reform Ms Fuller spoke about was streamlining the role of consent authorities such as the elected council, regional planning panel and local planning panels. Regional planning panels will be phased out with responsibilities transferred to local staff and new local planning panels. While local planning panels operate in metro Sydney, their introduction has been postponed to 2027 in non-metro areas. At that point local planning panels will determine DAs. Council staff will continue to assess the DAs.
The legislation has been passed but the supporting regulation is still being developed. Mr Bruce said a lot of the detail around the local planning panels was unknown. The majority of members of local planning panels would be state government appointees. Councils could elect a representative, potentially somebody independent.
