About the Development Assessment Forum
The Development Assessment Forum (DAF) was formed in 1998 to recommend ways to streamline development assessment and cut red tape - without sacrificing the quality of the decision making.
The Forum's membership includes the three spheres of government - the Commonwealth, State/Territory and Local Government; the development industry; and related professional associations.
The DAF Plenary meets twice a year in different jurisdictions. The Forum is chaired by Ms Kristin Brookfield, Senior Executive Director / Building, Development and Environment, Housing Industry Association. A working group progresses the work of the DAF between Plenary meetings.
Through its linkages with the Planning Officials Group, DAF provides advice and recommendations to Local Government and Planning Ministers. Secretariat Support and some project funding for the work program is provided by the Commonwealth Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government.
DAF's work program is developed annually with projects undertaken directly by members, or where appropriate, consultants. The DAF's work program stems from the Leading Practice Model for Development Assessment, which provides a model for national development assessment reforms for Australia.
The need for change
Australians are demanding more from their built environment and from the development systems that shape it. Sustainability and environmental issues are more prominent, our economic needs are becoming increasingly diverse and we now understand more about the role the built environment plays in delivering community benefits.
In response to these changes, planning systems must adopt more efficient processes that deliver the best possible social, environmental and economic outcomes.
Land use planning is a complex process. It requires the coordination of development assessment decisions taken at different times and by different agencies and stakeholders that would otherwise be made independently of one another.
Streamlining government processes and regulations will reduce the paperwork and regulatory compliance burden on small business. Reduced compliance burdens and more flexible regulatory systems should improve business efficiency, stimulate growth and help business generate employment.
How DAF was formed
The need for improvements in development assessment systems was recognised as essential back in 1996.
The Report of the Small Business Regulation Taskforce (the Bell report) Time for Business [
PDF: 412 KB] identified a number of important areas where red tape needed to be cut. Recommendation 29 suggested:
"That the three spheres of government develop a reform strategy for referral and concurrence procedures in the building and development industry by 1 July 1997. The strategy should include a system for resolving problems between government agencies and ensuring the delegation of decision making to the lowest level practicable taking into account the scale of development."
The Prime Minister responded in 1997 with More Time for Business [ PDF 586 KB], in which he accepted the recommendation and reported that the three spheres of government were working on reforms.
Industry groups and relevant professional bodies prepared their own report Unfinished Business [ PDF: 76 KB], calling for an intergovernmental agreement on development assessment.
These reports led to an historic meeting in Adelaide in June, 1998, which identified the need for reforms and resulted in the formation of the Development Assessment Forum.