LAST WEEK THE MINISTER FOR PLANNING ANNOUNCED CHANGES TO THE “OPT IN” RANGE FOR DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT PANELS THAT PROVIDE GREATER FLEXIBILITY FOR DEVELOPERS TO CHOOSE TO GET THEIR APPROVAL THROUGH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR THROUGH THE DAP.
DAPs were an initiative of the Council of Australian Governments which was progressing a national planning reform agenda that sought to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of the assessment process. It included the concept of applications for development being “streamed” in the most appropriate assessment pathway.
The COAG paper remains relevant with many useful ideas. To improve the system it started with policy development including the need for objective rules and tests to make the assessment more transparent. UDIA strongly supports these good policy settings which are vital to getting quality outcomes in a timely manner.
COAG also suggested that there be a single point of assessment which made better use of professional staff and private sector expertise to assess projects against the stated requirements.
The track-based assessment process included exemption from assessment or prohibited actions, with the four other categories ranging upwards in complexity from self-assessment through to impact based assessment. In WA, the track based approach underpinned the introduction of Private Certification for the building industry and is included in the latest planning reform considerations.
Many states have, in one form or another, introduced assessment processes that include an expert panel. In WA, DAPs were introduced with local governments being able to assess the lower-value applications, DAPs to assess the higher-value applications with developers having a choice to “opt in” within a set project value range. Some projects are exempt from the DAP process including single-house construction.
The change announced by the Minister last week increased the range for projects allowed to “opt in” from those valued between $3 million–$7 million to the new range of $2 million-$10 million ($20 million in the City of Perth). This means that more developers will have the choice to have their projects assessed by the local government or the DAP. UDIA has supported the increase in the “opt in” range as the approvals experience varies considerably between local authorities and also between DAPS.