Sixteen councils will trial technologies to speed up development assessment timeframes, as part of the NSW government’s $5.6 million investment to introduce artificial intelligence into the planning system, the Property Council reported.
The successful councils applied for grants under the State’s Early Adopter Grant Program to trial technologies that will improve the quality and accuracy of information when a development application is lodged.
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Councils assess approximately 85% of all residential development applications. The NSW government said this process is often strained by administrative delays, duplications, and mistakes, or site-specific requirements that are not met prior to submitting a development application.
“For example, of nearly 500 applications accepted into the Regional Housing Flying Squad Program in the past year additional information was required for around 30% of development proposals with applicants taking, on average, an additional 42 days to respond with the information,” the government said in a statement.
“The combined saving of not having to request additional information on this relatively small group alone would be around 6,300 days – or the equivalent of 17 years. If that is applied across the nearly 60,000 applications that are submitted in NSW each year, it means a saving of hundreds of thousands of days.”
NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully (pictured above left) emphasised the importance of technology in assisting the assessment of development applications as a way to address the housing crisis.
“Introducing AI into the planning system is about reducing the administrative workload of planners so that they can get on with their main job of planning,” Scully said. “It also helps applicants as it reduces delays by making sure all the required information is provided without repeated requests. This will free up their time and help build more homes faster.
“There is no denying that after a decade of confusing planning reforms and a challenging macroeconomic environment, approvals have slowed down. As a government we are examining every way we can to speed up our planning system and build homes for our young people, our families, and our workers.”
NSW Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig (pictured above right) highlighted the crucial role councils play in the planning process.
“Councils are responsible for determining approximately 85% of all new dwellings in NSW and I know firsthand the amount of work they do to assess development applications,” Hoenig said. “I believe that utilising AI will accelerate the planning process and will help councils to get on with delivering for their communities.”
The next phase of the project will examine technologies that can work with the NSW Planning Portal to make the benefits of artificial intelligence available to all applicants.
The Early Adopter Grant Program recipients include:
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