Recent reports warning of “corruption fears” (The Daily Telegraph, 13/10) over the New South Wales government’s proposed targeted assessment development pathway for housing approvals reveal a key tension in the current reform discussions. There is an ambition for planning assessments to be faster, but we will make real progress if we ensure reform delivers a system that is both faster and fairer.
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The proposed targeted assessment development pathway is a welcome step toward a more efficient system and is a move the Planning Institute of Australia has strongly advocated for. Done well, it could streamline assessments and reduce unnecessary delays while maintaining the transparency and accountability essential to good decision-making. The key is to embed this pathway within stronger strategic planning frameworks so that faster assessment is guided by clear, pre-agreed outcomes rather than left to individual discretion.
PIA is broadly supportive of the NSW government’s reform agenda and its goal of making the planning system work better. Importantly, confidence in the planning system – both business confidence to invest and community confidence in fair process – depends on decisions being made within a clear, evidence-based framework. When the rules are transparent, predictable and consistent, the system earns the trust that allows it to move more quickly.
A faster and fairer system
The goal of getting more homes built, sooner, is one every planner shares. But when processes rely too heavily on who is making the decision, rather than what the plan says, the system becomes vulnerable to inconsistency, challenge and public suspicion.
That’s not inevitable. The way to avoid this risk is to ensure targeted assessment is defined by clear strategic plans rather than discretion.
Strategic planning is the missing guardrail
Strategic planning is the long-term evidence-based work of identifying where and how growth should occur in the future. It provides the foundation for faster, fairer decision-making by setting agreed parameters upfront.
When requirements are statutory, published and monitored, they provide both transparency and accountability. Communities know what to expect, developers know what qualifies, and decision-makers are bound by a shared framework. The result is faster approvals without compromising integrity.
By embedding the requirements for targeted assessment in strategic plans such as regional or local plans, governments can determine upfront:
- Where the pathway applies (for example, in established infill or growth precincts)
- What kinds of developments qualify (such as medium-density or affordable housing, not heavy industry);
- What standards those developments must meet (including infrastructure, design, and environmental performance).
When these requirements are statutory, published and monitored, they provide both transparency and accountability. Communities know what to expect, developers know what qualifies, and decision-makers are bound by a shared framework. The result is faster approvals without compromising integrity.
Certainty comes from investing in strategic planning
Embedding targeted assessment within strategic plans achieves three things:
- Less discretion: decision-makers are guided by agreed outcomes, not requests
- More certainty: courts and integrity bodies can see whether a decision aligns with an adopted strategic plan
- Greater trust: the community can follow the logic of decisions and see how they fit within a broader vision for growth
That’s the hallmark of a good planning system: one that moves efficiently because it is predictable and principled, not because it skips important checks and balances.
Faster approvals still need good planning
Australia’s housing challenge is real and urgent. But the temptation to treat planning as the problem is misplaced. Good planning is the only way to deliver the infrastructure, amenity and environmental resilience that make housing both liveable and lasting.
PIA supports the goal of delivering more homes, more affordably, in the right places. To make the targeted assessment pathway both trusted and effective, government should invest in updating regional and local strategic plans to clearly define where and how this new approach applies.
As a practicing registered town planner with more than 40 years experience I am in total agreement with Sue on the need for strategic planning being the cornerstone of future planning. Without it, we are just leaving future planning decisions open to interpretation and political interference.The new planning legislation should have changed the way that development generally is dealt with, relying on strategic plans as the starting point and cornerstone of the development approval process- as they do in Queensland, where real town planning happens. Community consultation should focus on at the front-end of the planning process, when new communities and jobs precincts are being considered, not focused instead at the ‘tail-end’ of the planning process when development applications are finally being determined.
The introduction of the new planning legislation would seem to confirm my suspicion that NSW relies on a planning system written by lawyers rather than town planners. I truly hope that when the new regulation and state planning policies come into play that they are more inclusive and not just focused on housing projects.