Red tape cuts for development applicants

Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastrcture and Planning
The Honourable Jeff Seeney

Thursday, August 09, 2012
Red tape cuts for development applicants
New amendments that will cut red tape and result in substantial time and cost savings for applicants for development approvals have come into effect.

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney said amendments to the Sustainable Planning Regulation would remove a range of triggers requiring referral of development applications to State agencies.

“Removing these triggers will mean 1500 fewer referrals per year in the Integrated Development Assessment System,” he said.

“These referrals were mostly for State agencies to provide advice only, and were adding to the regulatory and cost burden for applicants, councils and State agencies.

“Add to that, many of the referrals applied to applications that would not otherwise have needed referral, so the potential time and cost savings from removing them are even greater.”

Referral triggers to be removed include:
• Advice referrals for conservation estate areas, cultural heritage premises, and wetlands - Department of Environment and Heritage Protection;
• Advice referral for premises affected by acid sulfate soils - Department of Natural Resources and Mines;
• Concurrence referral for particular applications for preliminary approval -Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning; and
• Concurrence referrals for purposes of community uses, places of worship, and education-care service premises-child care centres - Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Mr Seeney said the regulation also included an important reform that would streamline the way leases were given for housing in Indigenous communities.

“Under the new amendments, social housing tenants will be able to convert their tenancy to a long term lease without triggering the need for a development application,” he said.

“This will put them on par with people purchasing dwellings on freehold land where development approvals are not triggered by sales.”

“It is an important step so Indigenous residents are not caught up in red tape.”

Mr Seeney said the focus would now shift to expressing the State’s interest in the matters previously covered through the referrals in a more up front way.
[ENDS] 9 August 2012
Media Contact: Kate Haddan – 3224 4600