On 17 October the State Government announced the long foreshadowed next stage of planning reforms in Western Australia through the introduction of the Planning and Development Amendment Bill 2023 to Parliament.
Planning reform is critical to improving the consistency and efficiency of our planning system and supporting the growth of the housing industry and the broader property market. This next stage of reforms is more significant than those previously implemented and has been broadly celebrated by planning and property industry alike.
At TBB we are excited by the reforms proposed.
The changes are sensible, and we believe they will go a long way to improving the efficiency of the system, ensuring our frameworks are fit-for-purpose and working to address current challenges facing the development industry, and result in decisions which are more consistent with the strategic vision for our State.
Our policy & advocacy research team have reviewed the reforms in detail and provided key details for each. Scroll through the highlights or read the detail further down.
Permanent Pathway for Projects of State Significance
The amendments to the Planning and Development Act 2005 (the Act) and the release of the new Planning and Development (Significant Development) Regulations 2023 provide the legislative framework to facilitate a permanent pathway for State Government assessment and determination of significant development proposals. Continue reading
Reforms to Determination of Applications for Single Houses
These reform measures are relatively simple but are significant and likely beneficial for ‘mum and dad’ applicants.
Through an amendment to the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015, all local governments in Western Australia will be required to determine applications for single houses (or any ancillary structures or modifications to single houses) under delegated authority (via the Chief Executive Officer or other delegated officer) and not by the Council. The exception to this is where those single houses are identified as heritage protected places. Continue reading
Reforms to Development Assessment Panels
Whilst the announcement of the reform measures to Development Assessment Panels is encouraging, the detail provided in the reform package is unfortunately light, as the proposed amendments to the Planning and Development (Development Assessment Panel) Regulations 2011 are not yet available. Continue reading
Efficiency in Planning Process
10-yearly reviews of planning instruments and Reforms to Regional Strategic Planning. Continue reading
Reforms to the WAPC
The reforms include the outcomes of a long-awaited review of the Commission’s functions and its Board. We consider that the review of the functions appears more streamlined and fit-for-purpose, and more strongly aligning with the other reforms that are being undertaken. Continue reading
For information on any of these reform areas, and how these could impact your projects, please reach out to our dedicated policy & advocacy research team:
Jarrod Ross, Principal
Trent Will, Principal
Michael Willcock, Senior Associate
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