“One of the key challenges is the complex approvals system, which leads to protracted timeframes, higher approval costs and worsening housing affordability,” said Craig Jennion, HIA Executive Director Hunter. 

“Pleasingly, Central Coast Council has last week launched the Accelerated Development Application (ADA) pathway, a measurably quicker process for well prepared, low risk proposals to move through the assessment process.

“Adapted from a model first developed by the City of Newcastle, the ADA pathway can be applied to 13 different development types, with determinations expected within 10 to 25 days of lodgement — a timeframe that eclipses the average of most councils,” said Mr Jennion.

Key to the success of the pathway is an upfront review known as the Accelerated Lodgement Ready (ALR) review. This free service begins when applicants submit an ALR checklist for the development, an ALR Statement of Environmental Effects and appropriate supporting documents.

The ALR review is expected to improve the quality of development applications by ensuring applicants submit complete, high quality information. If accepted, applications can then be assessed through the ADA pathway.

“A large component of a house and land package in NSW is regulatory cost. One of the biggest portions of this is the cost of delays in securing approval to build.

“Central Coast Council is to be commended for developing a faster, less bureaucratic process that saves time and council resources and, in turn, helps reduce the cost of delivering a home.

“If we are going to meet the state’s housing targets and address the housing shortage, new approaches that fast track eligible development applications are needed to reduce the time it takes to secure planning approval.

“In addition to improving the assessment process, HIA would like to see councils lean further into AI and private certification through delegated assessments to further reduce approval delays,” concluded Mr Jennion.

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