The New South Wales Government has placed proposed regulatory changes on public exhibition that would establish a new Development Coordination Authority (DCA), positioning it as a single entry point for major planning referrals across the state.
The reform is designed to address long-standing delays and complexity in the planning system by centralising state agency advice and decision-making, removing the need for applicants and councils to navigate multiple departments independently.
Under the proposal, the DCA would act as a one-stop shop for state-level input on development applications, consolidating advice that currently flows through as many as 22 different government bodies.
Addressing referral-driven delays
Data released alongside the exhibition highlights the scale of the issue the reform is seeking to address. A development application requiring just one state referral has historically taken an average of 60 days longer to assess than a comparable application without one. Each additional referral has added up to 100 days to assessment timeframes.
For builders and developers, these delays translate directly into higher holding costs, extended construction timelines and increased project risk.
The proposed DCA model aims to reduce these delays by coordinating advice internally, resolving conflicts between agencies and delivering a single, consolidated response to applicants and councils.
From hundreds of rules to one clear framework
One of the most significant changes under the proposal is the consolidation of referral requirements.
Currently, more than 800 referral triggers are dispersed across 175 different planning instruments. Under the new system, these requirements would be replaced with a single, standardised list aligned with state priorities.
This list would be embedded within State Environmental Planning Policy (Planning Systems) 2021, providing a clearer and more accessible framework for applicants, councils and consultants.
Safeguards relating to environmental protection, heritage, bushfire management and infrastructure operation would remain in place, but the DCA would become the single coordination point for all state matters.
Fixed response times introduced
The proposed regulatory changes also introduce mandatory response timeframes.
The DCA and other relevant state bodies would be required to provide feedback on development applications within 28 days. The intent is to create consistent response times across government, improving certainty and reducing the risk of projects stalling due to unresolved referrals.
For councils, this could mean fewer delays waiting on state advice before finalising assessments. For applicants, it offers greater clarity around timeframes and next steps.
Initial operations already underway
While the full coordination function is scheduled to commence on 1 July, the DCA began initial operations in December.
Early work has focused on connecting applicants with the appropriate areas of government earlier in the process and providing post-consent support to help projects move into construction more quickly.
Once fully operational, the authority’s core role will be to bring together technical experts from across state agencies, resolve competing requirements and issue a coordinated response rather than multiple, sometimes conflicting, positions.
Part of broader planning reform agenda
The proposed changes represent the first regulatory step in implementing the Planning System Reforms Bill 2025, which passed Parliament with broad bipartisan support in November.
According to the NSW Government, the wider reform agenda is aimed at reducing unnecessary complexity in the planning system, lowering construction costs and supporting faster delivery of housing and employment-generating projects.
Speaking on the proposal, Paul Scully, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, said the intent was to remove friction from the system while maintaining important safeguards.
“There is nothing more frustrating for applicants than having their DA bounced from one department to another and then getting conflicting answers as to what they need to do,” he said.
The reforms are being progressed by the Minns Labor Government, which has positioned planning reform as a key lever in addressing housing supply constraints across the state.
Exhibition now open
Details of how the DCA would operate, along with the proposed regulatory changes, are on public exhibition from 29 January to 25 February 2026.
Industry participants, councils and community members are invited to review the proposal and provide feedback through the NSW Planning Portal.
If implemented as proposed, the DCA would represent one of the most significant structural changes to NSW’s planning referral system in decades, with potential flow-on impacts for assessment timeframes, project certainty and construction costs across the residential and commercial sectors.
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