COAG
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At its meeting on 13 April 2007, COAG highlighted the continuing significance of development assessment reform.
COAG restated its commitment to streamlining and harmonising development assessment processes within jurisdictions. It noted that a more streamlined development assessment process can reduce the costs facing business and deliver positive economic, social, and environmental outcomes for the entire community.
The Local Government Planning Ministers' Council (LGPMC) Report to COAG on Development Assessment Reform indicated that:
- States and Territories have reviewed, or are reviewing their local government development assessment legislation, policies and objectives to ensure that they remain relevant, effective, efficiently administered, and consistent across their jurisdiction;
- States and Territories have put in place, or are putting in place, strategies to ensure that referrals are limited to agencies with a statutory role relevant to the application, and that referral agencies specify their requirements in advance and comply with clear response times;
- all jurisdictions agree to review the outcomes of the current system and software trials of electronic development assessment processing and, if appropriate, facilitate further trials, with the aim of maximising the uptake of electronic development assessment processing by the end of 2009; and
- all jurisdictions agree that all new tender specifications for electronic development assessment software purchased by Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local Government will incorporate a National Communication Protocol for transferring development application information electronically from 1 July 2007.
COAG requested that the Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council continue its work towards implementing key elements of the Development Assessment Forum's Leading Practice Model.