Councils in Queensland’s south east will be given part of a $4.75 million handout from prime minister Kevin Rudd in order to help them cut approval times down to five days for low risk applications.
Up to 95 per cent of residential development applications currently going to councils will be affected by the initiative.
The funding, which will help reform development assessment processes regionally and address approval turnaround times, has come from the Rudd government’s Housing Affordability Fund.
Council of Mayors (SEQ) chairman and Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman welcomed the federal support.
Newman said councils’ aim to cut processing times for straight forward, low risk applications to five days will have a positive affect upon housing affordability.
“Potentially millions of dollars could be saved each year in holding costs on residential developments when processing times are reduced,” Newman said.
The initiative will focus on improving the quality of applications, information requests and clarity of council requirements.
A well-made application will mean a faster decision by council, he said.
“The Next Generation Planning initiative will look at ways to make it simpler for developers to operate across council boundaries by standardising residential housing codes and policies across the SEQ region,” he said.
“We aim to review code provisions addressing accessibility and environmental criteria to encourage better design outcomes and more affordable housing.”
Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke said faster development assessment processes and creating affordable housing codes would reduce costs for new homebuyers.
He said Gold Coast City Council’s RiskSmart program was already turning around low-risk applications in five business days.
“It will make it easier, faster and simpler for people to get approvals to add a new room to their house or build a unit development, for example. This is an innovative solution by councils to help solve the current housing shortfall and affordability issues across the region” Clarke said.
