19 March 2025

The Planning Institute of Australia has confirmed there is a “critical national shortage” of town planners impacting on Councils across the country, but Gunnedah Shire Council says lodgement of comprehensive and accurate applications ensures the process runs as smoothly as possible.

Gunnedah Shire Council Manager Development Assessment Wade Hudson said in the 2023-24 financial year, Council approved close to 150 development applications worth more than $31 million.

“Local government authorities across Australia are well aware there is a shortage of town planners that can lead to delays in approvals,” Mr Hudson said.

“However, the bulk of applications impacted by delays are those that do not include the necessary information and need to be sent back to the applicant for more information.

“The assessment of development applications is a necessarily regulated process, and applications must comply with pre-set criteria included in State Policies and the Local Environmental Plans. Applications cannot be approved unless they meet these criteria.

“We know it can be a daunting task for people who are looking to renovate, build, subdivide or maybe put in a pool, so Gunnedah Shire Council offers a number of services to help get an application right.”

A new system recently introduced by the NSW Government – the “Council League Table” available at www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/housing/faster-assessments-program/council-league-table - has placed a heavy emphasis on the number of days the determination of development applications process takes.

Mr Hudson said the “League” system did not take into account the lengthy delays that occurred when applications were missing vital information and needed to be sent back to the applicant.

“To meet performance criteria, Councils now have to reject or refuse development applications at an earlier stage than we might have done in the past, meaning there is a higher chance of early refusal of an application,” Mr Hudson said.

“To avoid this, we are ensuring we have a number of services in place to help applicants get their application right the first time.”

Council has information and application forms available on our website www.gunnedah.nsw.gov.au under “Development”, but also offers further services:

• A free Duty Planner Service is available by appointment between the hours of 9am and 1.30pm from Mondays to Fridays to speak with a Duty Planner for general planning enquiries, pre-lodgement discussion and development application lodgement. Appointments are available on request outside of the hours, and can be made on (02) 6740 2100.
• For those who would like written advice and would like to ensure planning, engineering and design issues are addressed before a development application is submitted, Pre-Development Application Services are available for a fee. To fill in a form for this service, you can contact (02) 6740 2100.

“We would like to make this process as easy as possible for applicants, and encourage people to take advantage of the services available,” Mr Hudson said.

People who go ahead with developments without the necessary approvals could face stop-work notices or penalties, and may be forced to remove structures.

ENDS

Media and communications team contact: (02) 6740 2100 or communications@gunnedah.nsw.gov.au