Annual Report 2008-2009 - Department of Transport

52
Building a Better Planning System
In March 2009, the Department, in conjunction with the Western Australian
Planning Commission, issued an industry consultation paper on planning
reform, titled Building a Better Planning System. The paper proposed six
priority areas for reform and over 50 priority actions. The priority areas were:
• simplifying planning approvals;
• more effective planning instruments;
• prioritising major projects;
• integrated coordination of infrastructure and land-use planning;
• a comprehensive regional planning framework; and
• strengthening governance and institutional arrangements.
A total of 110 submissions were received.
In June 2009, the Department established a Planning Reform Industry
Reference Group to consult and provide input on a final reform agenda to
be released in early 2009–10. The reforms are intended to achieve lasting
improvements and a planning system that ensures Western Australia has
the strategic capability and flexibility to deal with an environment of change
and uncertainty through well resourced and focused institutional/agency
arrangements and effective planning instruments.
*This activity also relates to Goal 3.
www.planning.wa.gov.au/Plans+and+policies
Monitoring land and housing supply
The Department, on behalf of the Western Australian Planning Commission,
administers the statutory land subdivision process, responding to
applications from developers. A report on lot approval statistics, entitled
State Lot Activity, is produced quarterly. In 2008–09, the development
industry applied for the construction of 26,119 residential lots; 22,772 of
these lots were granted conditional approval, and the industry returned to
the Department for final approval on 12,179 constructed lots. At the end of
June 2009, the industry had a stock of 73,408 lots with conditional approval
to construct.
To provide a more complete picture of the supply of land and housing for policy
makers, the development industry and the community, the Department also
produces the quarterly Land Supply and Housing Activity report. The report
brings together housing finance data, median house and land sale prices,
dwelling approvals, dwelling construction, rental vacancy and median rental
costs with subdivision data.
www.planning.wa.gov.au/Plans+and+policies
Electronic Land Development Process
The Electronic Land Development Process (eLDP) program encompasses
the establishment of an on-line subdivision approvals process from the
point of application for preliminary approval to the point of application for
registration of title on newly created lots. It will provide an interface for
developers to lodge applications on line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
and link agencies and local government to replace existing inefficient paperbased
processes.
Collaboration with Landgate has led to the formation of a shared governance
structure that will enable both the Department and Landgate to maximise
possible efficiencies between the eLDP and Landgate’s iLand programs.
During 2008, a revised strategy was developed to underpin the future
direction of eLDP, leading to the preparation of a Request for Tender for a
high-level design and solution options exercise. This exercise will further
document the design, define the structure of the system and determine the
best means of implementing eLDP. A contract is expected to be awarded for
this work to commence by the end of 2009.
www.planning.wa.gov.au