Often the biggest hassle in building a house or extension is getting planning approval from your local council, a process that can run into months. All state governments are working to speed up the development approval process, but often make things worse by adding to the long list of requirements to be met. In NSW, for example, the process has become more complex since the government started ‘streamlining’ the system in 1998.

Some states have had fast-track approval systems for a while for detached houses and additions on a single lot, while others are only just catching up. Western Australia pioneered this approach as long ago as 1985; since then most single houses in WA have not required planning approval if they comply with a set of standards called the R Codes. In Victoria, most single dwellings on their own lot do not require a planning permit, just a building permit.
 
The ACT introduced a fast-track approval system in 2008. Last year, NSW and SA introduced 10-day planning approvals for new houses and additions that meet a standard set of criteria for height, scale, setbacks, site coverage and so on. In both states, minor works such as pergolas, fences, decks and sheds do not need any council approval at all. If, however, your plans depart from the state code or you are building in, say, a heritage or environmentally sensitive area, you must lodge a full development application or application for a planning permit the old way.

Queensland is also working towards a fast-track approval system. Last year it introduced the concept of ‘deemed approvals’ – if the council has not ruled on your application within a designated time (which varies according to the type of development), your application is deemed to be approved.

Through the Council of Australian Governments, the states have agreed to ‘harmonise’ their rules for code-based assessment for single residential dwellings, so that if you want to build a house in future, the rules – hopefully – will eventually be the same across the nation. Just don’t hold your breath, given the pace of reform.

The move towards fast-track approvals has been controversial. Councils and some resident groups say it takes decisions about development out of the hands of the local community. Builders, developers and economists say it removes politics from planning decisions and is good for the nation’s economic health.

Illustration by Antonia Pesenti