NSW Government launches DA league table

This week the NSW Government released their new Council league table, an interactive dashboard to monitor the performance of Council’s lodging and determining development applications (DAs).

Sydney YIMBY supports holding councils accountable, as they assess most development applications. These leaderboards will increase transparency on processing times, an important step forward.

Slow DA assessment by local councils is a problem and consistent benchmarking is a good way to address it. However, this particular system has some flaws and may do more harm than good.

Firstly, the biggest problem is when Councils simply say “No”. Increased density is prohibited in much Sydney. This restriction of supply is a major reason housing is so expensive. However, it is not captured by approvals data. Developers don’t bother applying when they know they will be rejected.

Secondly, the tables compare approval times for billion-dollar developments in western Sydney against small-scale developments like minor alterations in Woollahra, which is like comparing apples to oranges. This means the tables don’t provide meaningful insights.

To improve this system, councils should report on two assessment streams—one for homeowners and small business owners, and one for large-scale developments. This tweak could yield better results instead of adding pressure to a broken system.

We also suggest an additional league table comparing construction completions against dwelling targets. You can’t manage what you don’t measure, and you can’t live in a DA approval. We need homes on the ground and keys in doors to solve the housing crisis.

With these tweaks, we could see how many new homes councils are approving, how long it takes to approve them, and how well they’re meeting their targets. 

In summary, while today’s announcement is a step in the right direction, the system could be improved to tell us what we really need to know.