Historically, development applicants often found that different councils required different reports, different plans, different consent conditions and different assessment practices.
The NSW Government is now moving towards a more standardised statewide system. This includes:
- Standard DA requirements.
- Standard drawing requirements.
- Standard report requirements.
- Standard and model conditions of consent.
- Consistent digital lodgement processes.
- Statewide performance benchmarks.
What this means for you
You should begin to see greater consistency between council areas and more certainty regarding what information is required before lodging an application.
This should reduce unnecessary rework, improve assessment efficiency and help applicants better understand expectations from the outset.
For more information, see the NSW planning reforms.
The NSW Government has introduced major housing reforms focused on increasing housing supply in existing urban areas.
This includes the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy, which expands opportunities for housing types such as:
- Dual occupancies
- Terraces
- Townhouses
- Manor houses
- Apartments in appropriate locations.
The objective is to deliver more housing choice and improve housing availability across NSW.
What this means for you
Land that may previously have been limited to lower density forms of development may now have expanded development potential.
Applicants should carefully review current planning controls before commencing a project, as opportunities may exist that were not available several years ago.
For more information, see the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy.
The Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) has been established to help accelerate strategically important housing proposals.
The HDA is intended to assist in overcoming barriers to housing delivery and provide faster pathways for eligible housing projects.
What this means for you
For larger housing projects there may be alternative planning pathways available in addition to traditional local council assessment processes.
Early investigation of available pathways is becoming increasingly important, particularly for larger residential developments.
For more information, see the Housing Delivery Authority.
The NSW Government has established the Development Coordination Authority to improve coordination between agencies involved in planning approvals.
The objective is to:
- Reduce referral delays.
- Resolve approval bottlenecks.
- Improve agency coordination.
- Support faster project delivery.
What this means for you
Applicants should see increasing efforts by government agencies to streamline approval pathways and improve certainty around assessment timeframes.
For more information, see the Development Coordination Authority.
One of the most significant reforms currently proposed is the introduction of a statewide framework for development application requirements.
Plans and Drawings
- Site plans
- Floor plans
- Elevations
- Sections
- Landscape plans
- Subdivision plans.
Supporting Reports
- Statements of Environmental Effects
- Arborist reports
- Flood reports
- Heritage reports
- Traffic reports
- Acoustic reports
- Access reports
- Coastal hazard reports and many others.
What this means for you
The quality of information submitted with your application will become increasingly important.
The reforms are designed to reduce circumstances where information is supplied progressively during assessment.
Applicants should expect greater emphasis on complete, accurate and professionally prepared documentation at the point of lodgement.
For more information, see the improving development assessment quality discussion paper.
The NSW Government is proposing a new interactive planning tool that will generate a tailored list of application requirements based on:
- Property address
- Development type
- Environmental constraints
- Planning controls affecting the land.
The system would automatically identify issues such as:
- Flooding
- Biodiversity
- Heritage
- Bushfire
- Coastal constraints.
What this means for you
Applicants will increasingly have access to planning requirements before they commence preparing a development application.
The intention is to reduce uncertainty and avoid wasted time and expense preparing incomplete applications.
For more information, see the new digital tool to make lodging a DA faster and easier.
The NSW Government has signalled major changes to the period between submission and lodgement of a DA.
Proposals include:
- Online payment gateways.
- Clearer lodgement processes.
- Automatic processing of fees.
- Automatic lodgement if applications are not processed within a specified timeframe.
- Removal of the existing "return" approach currently used for some incomplete applications.
The NSW Government has also proposed a statewide framework for standard and model conditions of consent.
Common issues such as:
- Hours of work
- Tree protection
- Waste management
- Erosion and sediment control
- Construction management
- Environmental safeguards
will increasingly be managed through standardised statewide conditions.
What this means for you
You should:
- See greater consistency between council areas.
- Better understand your obligations after approval.
- Experience fewer unexpected or inconsistent conditions.
- Benefit from more predictable project planning.
For more information, see the standard and model conditions of consent.
For certain major residential developments, the State is proposing mandatory consultation on draft conditions before consent is issued.
For larger developments, applicants would:
- Receive draft conditions.
- Be given an opportunity to comment.
- Have those comments considered before determination.
What this means for you
This should assist in identifying drafting issues, resolving misunderstandings and reducing the need for modification applications after approval.
For more information, see the standard and model conditions of consent.
The NSW Government continues to publish and monitor assessment performance data for councils across NSW.
This includes:
- Lodgement performance.
- Assessment performance.
- Benchmark reporting.
- Council comparison data.
What this means for you
There is increasing focus across the sector on timely assessments and customer service outcomes.
Councils are expected to meet performance benchmarks and continuously improve assessment processes.
For more information, see the Statement of Expectations Order .
While the planning system is evolving, some important fundamentals remain unchanged:
- Development proposals will continue to be assessed on their merits.
- Environmental impacts remain a key assessment consideration.
- Community consultation remains an important part of the planning process.
- Councils continue to play a critical role in local development assessment and customer support.
- Good planning outcomes remain the primary objective of the planning system.
- Shoalhaven's commitment to continuing improvement to our Development Assessment Service
The reforms collectively send a clear message to industry:
- Prepare better applications — Investing in quality plans, reports and documentation early is becoming increasingly important.
- Engage the right professionals — The new framework places greater emphasis on accurate technical reporting and compliance with statewide standards.
- Stay informed — Planning controls, housing policies and assessment pathways are changing rapidly. Applicants should regularly review NSW Government and Council guidance.
- Consider opportunities created by housing reforms — Recent reforms may create development opportunities that were not previously available, particularly for housing projects.
For more information, see the NSW planning reforms.
Taken together, these reforms represent a fundamental shift in how development occurs across NSW. The system is moving towards:
- Greater consistency.
- More digital services.
- Clearer requirements.
- Better quality applications.
- Faster assessment pathways.
- Improved housing delivery outcomes.
For the Shoalhaven development industry, the key takeaway is simple:
The planning system is increasingly focused on helping applicants understand exactly what is required before they lodge, reducing avoidable delays, and creating a more predictable and efficient pathway from concept to construction.
For more information, see the NSW planning reforms.