NEW ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE RANKS LOCAL COUNCILS IN DELIVERING CRITICAL HOUSING TARGETS
MEDIA RELEASE 11 July 2024
Blacktown, Wollondilly, and Camden have crushed the competition among councils in time spent assessing residential housing applications.
The NSW Government has flagged beleaguered assessment times as a critical concern as the state addresses the housing crisis. The Minns Government has introduced tools to increase transparency and establish timeframes for councils on the number of developments assessed, proposals, and strategic planning.
The newly created council league table reveals, among other things, the state's best performers for time spent assessing development applications.
Blacktown City Council is the state's best performer in assessing residential developments. The council received the highest number of residential 909 residential applications during the 2023/24 Financial Year, with an average assessment time of 65 days.
Wollondilly Shire Council boasted the fastest average assessment time at 53 days – less than half of the government's maximum timeframe of 125 days.
Housing Now! Chair David Borger, a former NSW housing Minister and Parramatta Mayor said the new tools allow communities to see how their Council measures up and will help make decision-makers accountable for their positions on housing.
"There needs to be transparency and accountability at all levels of government. Tools that allow constituents to see how their council is tracking in terms of addressing the housing crisis will send a shiver down the spine of NIMBY representatives," Mr Borger said.
"Locals will now have greater visibility in how decisions made by their local councils will affect them, and this is critical going into local elections later this year.”
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, published the new Statement of Expectations Order to establish timeframes for councils on development assessment, planning proposals and strategic planning.
This, together with the council league table are part of the NSW Government's Faster Assessment programs, which include $200 million in financial incentives for councils that meet housing development targets. Currently, councils assess about 85 per cent of all residential development applications.
For interviews with David Borger, or additional information on Housing Now!
please contact Farah Abdurahman on 0417 359 476 or Farah.Abdurahman@businesswesternsydney.com
About Housing Now!
Housing Now! is an alliance of industry bodies, unions, councils, and community groups committed to being a voice for future generations who may never be able to afford to buy a home in Sydney. The group knows that the status quo is not working which is why is committed to championing bold new ideas with practical actions that will make a difference. The Chair, David Borger has extensive firsthand experience on housing matters having been a former Lord Mayor of Parramatta and a NSW Minister for Housing,
