of DAs are now submitted online outside office hours.
of Complying Development Certificates (CDCs) are submitted online outside office hours.
Building a new house or renovating an old one is an exciting time, but that enthusiasm quickly turns to stress when waiting for development applications (DAs) to be approved by local councils. Traditionally, the planning system was largely paper based with manual forms and payments which needed to be lodged in-person at council offices. Then the wait for an approval to come through began, with no visibility into the process.
Improving planning efficiencies
The ePlanning Program was introduced to make it easier for homeowners to understand and interact with the planning system, while reducing application time from lodgement to approval.
Integral to the program is the NSW Planning Portal – where customers can now prepare, lodge and track applications anytime using their MyServiceNSW account. Digital dashboards help homeowners manage their applications and they can receive automated notifications throughout the application process.
The way NSW residents, councils and, government agencies interact with the NSW planning system has been transformed. The efficiencies created better informs decisions surrounding the assessment of DAs and planning proposals.
“The NSW Planning Portal provides a digital space that not only allows our customers to submit applications at anytime from anywhere but has resulted in improved back-office processes and operational efficiencies for our organisation.”
– Chris Chapman, Coffs Harbour City Council Director Sustainable Communities
Building confidence in NSW planning
The ePlanning Program is delivering meaningful outcomes to the community by reducing development assessment times, increasing transparency and confidence across the NSW planning system, as well as driving overall productivity and investment across the state.
Find out more information about the ePlanning Program
"The ePlanning Spatial Viewer is so simple to use, putting all the planning information I need at my fingertips."
Peter Smith, Director of Architecture and Urban Design, Smith & Tzannes
"NSW Planning Portal provides us with a tool to deliver on the feedback we’ve received asking for digital lodgement options.”
– Gareth Curtis, Director of Planning and Environment, Cessnock City Council
A recent Deloitte study calculated that the ePlanning program is saving applicants 150,000 hours in travel time and phone calls.
- More than 169,363 DAs and 44,128 CDCs have been submitted through the ePlanning Portal.
- 16-day reduction in the average determination time for DAs between 1 July to 31 December 2021, compared to paper-based processes.
- Used by every council (128) and private certifiers to process all planning applications across NSW.