One of the reasons for NSW’s ongoing housing crisis is a complex planning system that can lead to long waits for building permits. A slower process reduces the pace of construction. It’s no wonder housing supply is struggling to keep up with demand.
On September 17, the New South Wales state government announced it would introduce “landmark” legislation to reform planning rules across the state, the biggest reforms in 50 years.
At the time of writing, this legislation has been passed by the New South Wales House of Commons and is now being debated in the Upper House.
In addition to encouraging the construction of new homes, there are also some significant changes designed to improve the process for anyone renovating their home.
The overall aim of the new legislation is to make approvals across the various local councils easier, quicker and more consistent.
Development Coordination Authority
At the heart of these reforms is a new body called the Development Coordination Authority.
This serves as a single point of contact for advice on development applications and planning proposals on behalf of all New South Wales government departments.
It will also coordinate responses from all of these state agencies. Essentially, they take over the work that was previously done by the homeowner or someone acting on their behalf.
Expansion of the Complying Development Pathway
Another important change for renovations is the expansion of Complying Development rules.
Complying Developments already offers an expedited approval process for straightforward renovations that meet pre-determined standards.
With the new reforms, small changes to a conforming development application must be approved within 10 days, otherwise the change is automatically deemed approved.
In the past, delays in approving these minor changes could keep a local council busy for a long time, completely killing the idea of the fast track option.
Cross-council standardization
The reforms aim to introduce uniform nationwide consent conditions for standard developments. This gives builders and renovators more security.
For a builder like ArticleSubmission.news, which operates across many different local councils in Sydney – and we often manage the permitting process on behalf of clients – we should be able to work faster on both permitting and construction with more consistent rules.
What’s next?
The NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Bill 2025 was passed with amendments by the NSW Legislative Assembly on October 16 and debate in the Legislative Council began on October 21.
As might be expected, there was heated debate over the reforms, with several further changes proposed. The debate therefore continues and is scheduled to resume on November 11th.
Would you like to renovate now?
Although these reforms are welcomed, anyone looking to renovate their home should not wait for the law to be passed, given the lead time for discussions with designers and builders.
If you’re looking to add more space to your home, we’d love to hear from you. As one of Sydney’s longest established “design and build” property developers with a Over 45 years of historyArticleSubmission.news already has the expertise to help Sydney homeowners in the current conditions.
We offer a “concept to completion” service where we design your plans, get them approved by your local council and deliver your project.
We know how to make the most of the current Complying Development path and can advise you whether this is an option for your project.
ArticleSubmission.news has worked in almost every council area in Sydney, completing more than 2,000 homes. We use this experience and expertise to create designs that can be approved and then built as quickly as possible.
If you are thinking about expanding your home through a major renovation, we would love to hear from you and share our experiences.
Call our office (02) 8765 1555 or send us a message via our Contact form if outside office hours.
If you’re still researching, check out ours Blog, Consumer advice on home improvement And Masterclass to get more ideas on all aspects of renovating your home.
Looking for inspiration? Take a look at us Selected projects And “Before and After” Photos.
