Significant but non-major changes to strata units – like placing an air-con unit on your balcony, for instance – could soon be a lot easier with local councils being given only days to decide on approvals.

The proposed Planning System Reforms Bill 2025 is receiving widespread support from industry groups and local government. And under it councils have only 10 days to respond to “complying” developments otherwise they will be deemed to have been approved.

Your local council probably has authority over any renovations that change the look of the apartment block, the terms of the development approval or the use of the property.

The Bill has been presented as an attempt is to overhaul the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, which Premier Chris Minns says has become “a bottleneck in the state’s ability to build more homes.”

Key Changes

The major change in the Bill – which still has to get through parliament – is intended to achieve faster and simpler approvals.  The way the state government hopes to do that is to:

• Establish the Development Coordination Authority as a “single front door” for development applications and planning proposals across all NSW Government agencies
• Enshrine the Housing Delivery Authority in legislation to ensure ongoing government role in housing delivery
• Expand Complying Development rules, giving councils 10 days to approve small variations or have applications deemed approved
• Introduce a new ‘Targeted Assessment Pathway’ for developments where strategic planning and community consultation has already occurred
• Improve standards and requirements on Development Applications to ensure assessments are proportionate to development scale
• Standardise conditions to provide certainty and speed up construction post-approval
• Amend the EP&A Act to include housing delivery, climate resilience and proportionality in planning decisions
• Create consistent community consultation approach through a single, state-wide Community Participation Plan
• Remove regionally significant development pathway and regional planning panels
• Update appeal options and review processes to encourage dispute resolution outside the Land and Environment Court
• Fix a variety of long-standing issues in the system

Urgency

In launching the Bill, Premier Chris Minns emphasised the urgency of reform, noting Sydney is now the world’s second least affordable city and twice as many young people are leaving NSW as arriving.

“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,” Minns said. “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 framed the reforms as essential for economic competitiveness, saying: “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.”

Planning Minister Paul Scully highlighted the disproportionate focus on minor developments, noting that “90 per cent of development applications are for less than $1 million – to put it simply, we are sweating the small stuff.

“The reaction to this bill demonstrates there is consensus that reform is essential. The broad support we’ve seen shows these reforms are the right step to deliver more homes, faster, and give young people and families a fair shot at living where they want.”

Industry and Stakeholder Support

The reforms have attracted backing from across the housing and development sector, with industry leaders and affordable housing advocated praising the changes as long overdue.

“This is the planning reform that NSW needs to help industry build the homes people need. I am confident these reforms will see more homes built faster.” – Urban Development Industry Association CEO Stuart Ayres

 “We think it’s great that the Minns Government is putting this forward, and that the Opposition leader Mark Speakman has said that they’re “pro-housing, pro-reform”. We encourage them to back this change in and set up a planning system that will provide for our children and grandchildren in decades to come.” – Sydney YIMBY

“We’re on the verge of the biggest reform the planning system has seen in decades. The planning system we have has created headaches for communities, councils and developers alike. Too often, good projects for housing, infrastructure and development are caught in a maze that can run through as many as 22 agencies.” – The Committee for Sydney.

“Making housing a central Object of the EP&A  represents a seismic shift in how NSW approaches planning and housing supply.” – Urban Taskforce Australia CEO Tom Forrest

The reforms “represent a major step forward in modernising the NSW planning system – the reforms will help to clear the backlog of smaller, simpler projects and free up important resources to get on with the more complex projects that drive jobs, housing and economic growth.” – Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said

“Simplifying and modernising our State’s planning legislation is the single most important thing that must be done if we are to stop the exodus of young people from our city.” –  Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.

The Bill represents the most significant overhaul of NSW’s planning legislation in almost five decades, with the government now seeking bipartisan support to fast-track its progress through Parliament.