State Government's Latest Planning system reforms set off Alarm Bells in Community, Local Government, Environment Groups
razing the hillside at Palm Beach. Photo supplied
On September 17 2025 the Minns Labor Government announced it is introducing landmark legislation to deliver more homes through a modern, faster, and fairer planning system for NSW.
An issued statement said the NSW Planning System Reforms Bill 2025 is designed to make the planning system quicker and simpler to navigate, so that more homes and jobs can be delivered across the state.
The Bill was due to be introduced the same day.
On September 17 NSW Planning Minister tabled and read the explanation speech for the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning System Reforms) Bill 2025.
The Explanatory note states the objects of this Bill are as follows—
(a) to amend the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act) to—
(i) amend the objects of the Act, and
(ii) establish the Housing Delivery Authority, and
(iii) establish the Development Coordination Authority to centralise agency referrals and advice provided for the development assessment process, and
(iv) consolidate and clarify the roles and functions of the Independent Planning Commission, the Minister, regional planning panels, public authorities and councils (consent authorities) by removing the regionally significant development pathway, abolishing Sydney district and regional planning panels and clarifying roles and functions for development applications, and
(v) establish a single community participation plan that applies to all planning authorities and functions, and
(vi) expand complying development to allow variations to complying development standards and enable a deemed approval process for variations, and
(vii) create a process for certain development to bypass a full assessment, and
(viii) simplify development and approval pathways, and
(ix) implement standard conditions and make changes to certain review and appeal processes,
(b) to make consequential amendments to other Acts and regulations.
Once you drill down into the amendments the changes are, among others:
Schedule 1[43] removes the requirement for the Planning Secretary or a relevant planning authority (the relevant authority) to consult with the Secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water if, in the relevant authority’s opinion, a critical habitat or a threatened species or its habitat may be adversely affected by a proposed local environmental plan or State environmental planning policy.
[43] Section 3.25 Special consultation procedures concerning threatened species Omit the section
Schedule 1[61] omits a section concerning the granting of development consent on bush fire prone land.
[61] Section 4.14 Consultation and development consent—certain bush fire prone land Omit the section.
Schedule 1[62] requires a consent authority to consider the significant likely impacts of a development when determining a development application.
Section 4.15 Evaluation Insert “significant” before “likely” in section 4.15(1)(b).
Schedule 1[68] provides that a State environmental planning policy may declare development to be targeted assessment development. Schedule 1[156] provides for public exhibition requirements for targeted assessment development.
[68] Division 4.3A
Insert after Division 4.3—
Division 4.3A Targeted assessment development
4.20A Declaration of targeted assessment development
(1) A State environmental planning policy may declare development, or a class of development, to be targeted assessment development. (2) For subsection (1), a State environmental planning policy may specify criteria that development, or a class of development, must meet to be targeted assessment development. (3) Before recommending the making of a State environmental planning policy by the Governor under this section, the Minister must take steps—
(a) to publicise an explanation of the intended effect of the proposed policy, and
(b) to seek and consider submissions from the public on the matter.
(4) Development, or a class of development, declared to be targeted assessment development may also be another type of development under this part.
4.20B This division prevails
The provisions of this division and other provisions of or made under this Act relating to targeted assessment development prevail to the extent of an inconsistency with other provisions of or made under this Act relating to development to which this part applies.
On the same day the NSW Opposition stated it ''welcomed the Minns Labor Government revealing its planning system reforms and looks forward to constructive engagement on the details in the coming weeks.''
''In December Mr Speakman, together with NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders and Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Scott Farlow, wrote to the Premier and Planning Minister proposing a bipartisan approach to tackle the state’s housing crisis. We hope that today’s announcement shows that call has been heard.'' the coalition said in their own released statement
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said he had made housing reform a priority when others hesitated, because people across NSW deserve a fair shot at a home near their family, work and community.
“We will now take the next step, listening to stakeholders, and reviewing the legislation carefully in Shadow Cabinet and our party room, but our commitment is clear - we are pro-housing, pro-reform, and determined to see NSW move forward and we will have more significant housing announcements to come between now and the 2027 election,” Mr Speakman said.
NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said regional communities know all too well the pressure of finding a home.
“We’ve been consistent in calling for the cutting of red tape, for a fix for the planning logjams, and to ensure new homes come with the schools, hospitals and roads they need. The Opposition put this on the table at the end of last year, and we’ll continue to make sure regional voices are at the centre of reform,” Mr Saunders said
Although the government was quick to run a series of 'expressions of support and approval' from Developers and developer lobby groups, and even well-respected industry cohorts, the Bill has ignited concerns elsewhere.
Pittwater Greens Councillor Miranda Korzy is calling on local MPs and residents to vigorously oppose the latest round of NSW government planning changes.
Ms Korzy said Labor had introduced the changes claiming they would “deliver more homes through a modern, faster, and fairer planning system”, with a bill “designed to make the planning system quicker and simpler to navigate”.
However, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Bill, tabled in Parliament on September 17, yet again undermines council planning powers and residents’ opportunity to have their voices heard, Ms Korzy states.
“This government is yet again prioritising developers’ desire to make a quick buck over local residents’ right to determine what happens in their own communities,” Ms Korzy said.
”If being a NIMBY is about standing up to a development agenda that ignores the right of communities to decide how they want their suburbs to look, then I’m proud to be a NIMBY.
”We all want affordable housing for young people but these changes will not create affordable housing in Pittwater.
“Good planning should allow time to consider good design and environmental concerns, which these amendments sacrifice.
”I’m calling on residents to inform themselves about these so-called reforms, and with our local MPs, to stand up and loudly reject them.
“The Labor government should remember the community outrage, which contributed to their devastating loss to the Coalition in 2011, after they granted themselves the right to override local council decisions on major developments in 2005.”
On specific aspects of the amendments, Ms Korzy lists:
- Residents are already resentful about the Complying Development process, with its inbuilt conflict of interest (whereby builders pay private certifiers to approve their developments), and lack of council enforcement powers.
- But instead of removing this conflict and introducing oversight for councils, the government has dreamt up a provision to allow developers to ask for “minor modifications” to plans, giving councils 10 days to respond.
- In a major change to planning protocols, if the council doesn’t do so within those 10 days, the change will be “deemed” approved. Bad luck if staff are sick or overwhelmed with an unusually high workload.
- Similarly, for the controversial “minor modifications” to Development Applications - which residents believe are often used multiple times by developers to get around original refusals to aspects of their plans.
- Councils will now have 14 days to process these, and if they run out of time, will be unable to refuse the application.
- In terms of community input, whilst the council is currently updating our Community Participation Plan, to broaden notification of proposed rezonings and (I had hoped) Development Applications, the new rules would impose a new single plan on councils.
- The amendment does not detail what will be in the plan, but councils and their communities will lose their ability to decide for themselves how to carry out engagement on these issues.
- The government also plans to scrap the Sydney North Planning Panel and regional planning panels - which would appear to be a positive move, bringing approvals closer to home.
- However, positions on these panels will remain appointed by councils - continuing the undemocratic way in which developments are processed, and placing a greater financial burden on councils.
- Finally, Labor intends dropping the provision in the act that prevents development approvals where land has been declared bushfire prone.
''I am particularly concerned about the impact this will have in Pittwater, given the former Coalition government’s plans for housing development at Ingleside were defeated due to the Rural Fire Service declaration of an unacceptably high fire danger in the area.
Current Planning Proposals for development at the Wilga Wilson Precinct, in Ingleside, and Lizard Rock will be affected by the loss of this restriction, if it passes into law. '' Ms Korzy said
See: Wilga Wilson Planning Proposal for 536 Dwellings at Ingleside: feedback Closes September 24 Update (15.9.2025): Feedback now closes October 8 2025
On Tuesday September 23, in regards to the Wilga Wilson proposal, Elanora Heights Residents Assn (EHRA) said it is concerned that the proposal in its current form has one central significant failing, which has outworking in several areas: five 6 storey towers in a peri-urban bushland context, that is too far from transport, shops and services and is not good place-based planning.
''We are not anti-development, but it has to be good development - better than average.
536 dwellings means at least 1,000 extra cars, using Powderworks Rd at various times including peak hours, when it is already over maximum capacity. Bushfire evacuation risk - which stymied the previous Ingleside redevelopment - is therefore still a major problem.
We also note that the traffic generated by 1,000 extra cars will impact every resident and business in Ingleside, Elanora and North Narrabeen - yet Council only notified about 10% of these areas, as required by the regulations. But it would be very much more equitable if notification blanketed the three suburbs, and the deadline was extended to mid November.
"Six storey towers will be very jarring to look at in that location” or similar comments have been made by most Elanora locals who have looked at the plans in detail via NB Council’s Your Say website.'' Dick Clarke, EHRA Coordinator, stated
Worth noting: Draft Bush Fire Prone Land Package - The NSW Planning department, in partnership with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), developed a draft Bush Fire Prone Land Package to ensure that bush fire risk is considered in strategic land use planning in NSW. This package of documents was exhibited for public consultation from 3 – 30 July 2024 and is 'now under consideration', the government's webpage advises.
Local Government NSW (LGNSW) President Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM commended the NSW Government on its bipartisan approach to simplifying and streamlining the planning processes.
Mayor Miller said while the sector would be working through the detail of the legislation and providing further feedback, it was clear the proposed changes would address several key concerns long held by councils across the state.
“LGNSW supports genuine and sensible efforts to streamline planning regulation and contribute to increasing housing supply and diversity. We want to work with the government to ensure councils are supported to fulfil their assessment and broader planning responsibilities,” Mayor Miller said.
“Councils have been actively reviewing and improving their assessment processes with promising results, an outcome that Minister Scully recently acknowledged at a Budget Estimate hearing. But the local government sector has long held frustrations waiting for state agencies to provide advice on development applications and planning proposals, which in turn has a knock-on effect to their timeframes,” Mayor Miller said.
“It’s therefore pleasing to see the introduction of the Development Control Authority (DCA), which will effectively act as a clearing house for NSW government concurrences. Previously, this clunky and inconsistent process frustrated both councils and the development sector alike and led to significant delays delivering planning and housing outcomes across the state”.
“We look forward to the government releasing the details of how the DCA will function, how it will report transparently on its performance, and ultimately how it will contribute to housing delivery in NSW,” Mayor Miller said.
“Other sensible changes promise to reduce the time and ratepayer money that councils will spend defending their planning decisions in the Land and Environment Court. We also commend the government on the inclusion of a new climate resilience object in the legislation. This is an acknowledgement of the critical need for the planning system to deliver development that responds to climate change and promote resilience to natural disasters – something that councils across the State have been doing and saying for decades,” Mayor Miller said.
On a less welcome note, the Bill also proposes to enshrine the Housing Delivery Authority (the HDA) as a permanent fixture in the NSW planning system. The introduction of the HDA in November 2024 was condemned at the time by the local government sector who saw it as an attempt to circumvent councils in local decision making.
“While we acknowledge that since that time, we have received more information and data around the processes and performance of the HDA, it remains a concern for many councils feeling the impact and we will continue to provide feedback to the government.”
“The central concern is that major development proposals and ad hoc rezonings submitted to the HDA have no clear links to adopted plans and strategies that local communities have developed with their council,” said Mayor Miller.
“We urge the government and the HDA to continue to work more collaboratively with councils on all its State-led processes to ensure that growth and development is balanced and supported with the necessary infrastructure and if this bill passes we will be calling on the government to review the role of the HDA at the end of the Housing Accord period,” Mayor Miller said.
“And infrastructure remains the key – we need the State Government, and the Federal Government to step up on the direct funding and delivery of key infrastructure. There is simply no point in approving and building thousands and thousands of new homes if we don’t have the schools, the hospitals, the roads, the sports fields, community facilities and the sewerage and water infrastructure to support them.”
Mayor Miller says infrastructure delivery and the importance of completion are the two key areas that LGNSW will continue to advocate on. “We need the State to drive the development industry to actually deliver on approvals. Councils have an important role to play in the assessment and approval processes for new housing but we have zero control over whether those houses are ever actually built” she said. “That’s something that the development sector needs to improve on.”
Mayor Miller provided further comments on other key changes the legislation seeks to bring about. "Councils welcome the return of greater emphasis on local planning panels. with the removal of the Sydney District and regional planning panels and we look forward to more local voices being part of the planning process,” said Mayor Miller.
“Equally, we acknowledge the standardisation of one statewide community participation plan, but we call on the government to leave enough room for local conditions such as the lack of reliable internet and mobile coverage. It’s critical that a standardised plan is used to provide greater access to planning information rather than cut timeframes or reduce consultation opportunities generally.”
The proposed changes have been described as the most significant reform of NSW Planning Legislation in nearly 50 years. Mayor Miller said that given the magnitude of these wide-ranging changes, there needed to be robust, transparent and regular monitoring by the NSW Government of the outcomes of these reforms.
“Councils want assurances that local government will be involved in fine-tuning the legislation and its implementation so that they complement the genuine efforts of councils to improve their processes”, she said. “At the end of the day, local government is best placed to ensure that local communities still have an input into local decision making”.
In its released statement the government said 'The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) is the foundation of the State’s housing, infrastructure, and energy delivery. Every decision made about new and existing development is determined by the EP&A Act, but after nearly 50 years, it has become overly complex and ill-equipped to meet modern challenges.
Over time, the planning system has become a barrier preventing the delivery of much needed homes by slowing decision-making and delaying construction. The level of assessment required for simple developments is disproportionate to their impact on communities – in short, we are sweating the small stuff.
As a result, not enough homes are being built. Sydney is now the second least affordable city in the world and twice as many young people are leaving NSW as are arriving. Families, young people and downsizers are being locked out of the communities they want to live in and are being forced to live far from their families, jobs, and essential services.
The EP&A Act needs modernising and following constructive conversations with the NSW Opposition the NSW Planning System Reforms Bill 2025 proposes to:
Faster, simpler approvals
- Establish the Development Coordination Authority, a single front door which will provide advice on development applications and planning proposals on behalf of all NSW Government agencies.
- Enshrine the Housing Delivery Authority in legislation, ensuring that the NSW Government has an enduring role in housing delivery across the state.
- Expand Complying Development, giving councils 10 days to approve small variations on a complying development application, or have it deemed approved.
- Introduce a new ‘Targeted Assessment Pathway’, bridging the gap between a full development assessment and Complying Development, for types of development where strategic planning and community consultation has already taken place.
More certainty for builders and communities
- Improve the standards and requirements on Development Applications (DA) to make sure planning assessments are proportionate to the scale and complexity of development.
- Standardise conditions to provide more certainty and speed up construction once approvals are granted.
- Amend the objects of the EP&A Act to include housing delivery, climate resilience and proportionality in planning decisions for the first time.
- Create a consistent approach to community consultations across the state by establishing a single, state-wide Community Participation Plan for NSW.
Cutting red tape and unnecessary duplication in the planning system
- Remove the regionally significant development pathway and regional planning panels that have created unnecessary duplication and delays in planning decisions.
- Update appeal options and review processes to encourage disputes to be resolved outside of the Land and Environment Court.
- Fix longstanding miscellaneous issues.
- Since coming to office in March 2023, the Minns Government has rolled out the biggest reform agenda in NSW history to speed up the delivery of homes by:
- Undertaking the largest reforms to the planning system in the State’s history, through the Transport Oriented Development program, Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy and the Infill Affordable Housing Bonus.
- Establishing the Housing Delivery Authority, which provides a faster and more certain approvals pathway for major housing developments, with over 86,700 homes already declared State Significant.
- Delivering 30,000 new homes on surplus government land, including 8,400 new social housing units in the biggest housing investment in the State’s history.
'But the need for legislative and regulatory planning reform has become clear. These proposed changes are part of the Minns Government’s plan to build a better NSW with more homes, parks and services, so young people, families and key local workers have somewhere to live and in the communities they choose.' the government's statement said
Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:
“The current system has become a bottleneck in the state’s ability to build more homes – hurting housing supply, increasing costs and reducing community confidence.
“For too long, NSW has been hamstrung by a planning system that delays good projects and makes it harder to build the homes our communities desperately need.
“This Bill is about clearing the path for the right development in the right places, with the right outcomes for the community.”
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:
“NSW is a great place to live, work, raise a family and start a business. It’s a great place to have a home – but there has been too much red tape tying up approvals and construction of new homes.
“That has to change so we can hold onto and attract the people who are vital to powering our economy.
“This is the next common-sense step to increase productivity and continue our transformational planning reforms.”
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:
“The NSW planning system is responsible for supporting the delivery of our housing, infrastructure, and energy systems. This Bill is designed to make that system fit for a modern NSW.
“In NSW, 90 per cent of development applications are for less than $1 million – to put it simply, we are sweating the small stuff. We need a planning system that supports the delivery of more homes, jobs and investment in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable way.
“Housing is the number one issue for the people of NSW. We need legislative reform, and we need support from every end of the political spectrum so that the system that has guided NSW’s development for the last 50 years can guide NSW’s development in the future.
“This is about making sure the planning system works for the people of NSW.”
Greens MP and spokesperson for Planning Sue Higginson said when the initial announcement was made:
“The Minns Labor Government has made it their clear mission to see developers build more new housing and development in NSW. In what certainly looks like a gift to developers, following the mantra of cutting proverbial ‘red tape’, the Minns Government will now establish the Development Coordination Authority which will cut out the advice of independent expert agencies. Limiting and filtering expert independent advice is never a good plan,”
“It’s telling that in their announcement, the Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Planning, didn’t mention this week’s Climate Risk Report that identified one million homes are at 'very high risk' and will be effectively uninsurable by 2050. Fast tracking houses is no solution as long as people are still moving onto floodplains, biodiversity is being trashed, climate resilience is merely an objective, and public and affordable housing is an after-thought,”
“We need certainty that new developments will not occur on flood or bushfire prone land, that development will not destroy more biodiversity and mature trees and that new homes are being built to the highest thermal standards. Under this Government we have already seen thermal standards reduced for some of their accelerated up-zonings,”
“While coordination is always a welcomed feature of any system, the establishment of the Development Coordination Authority seriously threatens the integrity of our planning system and decisions made. This new super-office will be responsible for every single development application or planning proposal - it’s a Trojan Horse that will remove the critical independent expert voices in Government agencies that raise serious and legitimate concerns. This has been on the wishlist for developers for a long time, and it looks like this bill will deliver,”
“We need firm and clear requirements that all new builds will have a best standard proportion of in-perpetuity affordable homes, and a minimum requirement for social housing. The Government needs to make sure that 30% of new builds are affordable homes, and 10% public homes,”
“Setting up the planning system to reward developers, so they can profit from building houses, won’t fix the housing affordability crisis which is where real housing pain is being felt - and it will do nothing for the 66 thousand households on the wait list for social housing,”
“We support appropriate and well planned new housing, that’s not in question. Where we disagree with the Government is how the community and expert advice should be involved in decisions, and making sure that we are taking on board the existential threat of the climate and biodiversity crises,” Ms Higginson said.
On Tuesday September 23 the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC), the state’s leading environmental organisation, warned that the NSW Government’s proposed changes to NSW environmental protection laws open the way for reckless coal and gas approvals.
“These extreme changes to our environmental protection laws would strip away environmental scrutiny, making it easier for damaging developments to slip through,” said Jacqui Mumford, NCC Chief Executive Officer.
“This is a code red for environmental protection in NSW. If passed as is, the reforms on the table would have devastating consequences.
"We understand the Minns government wants to approve more housing, but these changes will undermine expert input and open up corruption risks for all development, from coal mines to waste incinerators."
Amongst the planning bill’s amendments are a suite of changes that weaken environmental protections — and they apply to all kinds of developments.
Additionally, there are no constraints on what type of development can be declared ‘targeted assessment development’ and given a quicker pathway.
“The government’s new ‘targeted assessment’ category strips out key safeguards — developments could proceed without assessing environmental impacts, site suitability, or the public interest,” said Ms Mumford.
“These proposed accelerated assessment pathways also heighten risks of corruption by centralising decision-making and stripping power away from local councils and specialised agencies.
“These laws are a gift to big polluters and a Trojan horse carrying destruction for the environment.
“The changes would make it easier for all kinds of infrastructure and development to evade proper assessment.
“These new laws could see recent development proposals like Centennial Coal’s attempts at dumping toxic mine water into Sydney’s drinking water supply, waved through with little oversight.
“Under these laws the harmful Redbank biomass power station would have been passed. The decision maker would have been forbidden from considering the impacts of clearing native vegetation because “development” is broadly defined.
“The consequences of this legislation will be far-reaching and hasten a new wave of environmental destruction as we face concurring climate and biodiversity crises."
After the second reading speech of September 17 debate was suspended (5 calendar days). The NSW Parliament next sits on October 14 to 16, and again the following week.
Lizard Rock/Patyegarang terrain -