Regulation Review - IPART - NSW Government

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3 Identifying reform opportunities introducing ‘strategic compatibility certificates’ to enable developments consistent with regional strategies to proceed even if the local land use plan has not yet been amended to catch up with the regional strategy greater use of code-based assessments (complying development) reducing the number of planning instruments (ie, State Environmental Planning Policies, Regional Environmental Plans, Local Environmental Plans and Development Control Plans) to remove complexity and confusion in the planning system reducing referrals and concurrence requirements, and consolidating NSW Government agencies’ requirements for developments establishing clear principles in relation to the types of development consent conditions that are appropriate (ie, clear, reasonable, cost effective and proportionate), removing duplication with other regulatory requirements and standardising these conditions to improve consistency across councils requiring mandatory monitoring of State and local government performance against clear indicators (measurable planning goals), with regular public reporting and review adopting an ‘amber light approach’ – formally requiring consent authorities to provide advice to an applicant of amendments that would make an otherwise unacceptable proposed development acceptable, if adopted, and allow the proposal to be so modified introducing a cultural change program, to be led by the Department of Planning & Infrastructure in partnership with the Planning Institute of Australia, local government and stakeholder representatives, to change the current culture of the planning profession – which has been described as being overly controlling, highly risk-adverse, unhelpful, bureaucratic and focused on how to stop outcomes – to a culture of facilitating good outcomes. 59 As discussed in Chapter 1 of this paper, the ToR directs us to ensure any recommended reforms from our review will enable councils to maximise the opportunities from the planning system review. 59 NSW Government, A New Planning System for NSW: Green Paper, July 2012. 42 IPART Regulation Review
3 Identifying reform opportunities Building and construction In NSW, the PC reports that local government regulation of building sites occurs on a case by case basis, typically through conditions imposed at the planning approval stage and the compliance process during the construction phase. It notes that this allows for greater flexibility in tailoring regulation to specific circumstances. However, it also reports that this provides for more discretion by local government officers and hence greater regulatory variability and possibly less transparency. 60 The PC’s analysis also suggests that councils in NSW impose standards (eg, sustainable building design) above and beyond the Building Code of Australia (BCA), which are often considered by businesses to be unnecessary. 61 In 2008, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) reviewed local government interventions above requirements specified in the BCA and reported that there are a minimum of 8 in NSW. It subjected these to cost benefit analysis and found they increase business compliance costs by between 2% and 14%. It also reported that these interventions impact on housing affordability, and suggested that many of the issues regulated would be best left to market mechanisms. 62 Across Australia, the PC highlighted a number of leading practices in the area of building and construction. Gateway approach A gateway approach is used by Queensland and Victoria to monitor and assess all building standards that are higher than those set out in the BCA. Assessments include independent cost benefit analysis of proposed standards. In this way, state governments effectively act as gatekeepers in relation to additional building standards. 63 Regimes for application fees According to the PC, there is significant inconsistency across NSW councils in relation to building and construction application fees – with fees varying by over $2,000, based on a 200m 2 residential dwelling. There is a larger variation across councils for commercial applications. There are also questions about the costreflectiveness of some fees. 64 60 Productivity Commission, Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation: The Role of Local Government as Regulator, July 2012, p 274. 61 Ibid, p 281. 62 Ibid, p 266 – 268. 63 Ibid, p 270. 64 Ibid, pp 262 and 264-265. Regulation Review IPART 43
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Regulation Review - IPART - NSW Government

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