The Chris Minns Labor government released a draft Community Participation Plan (CPP) on April 8 which mandates how it wants public consultation for planning decisions to operate. The single plan replaces local government-specific CCPs, which have varying requirements for the public exhibition of development proposals.
Labor is justifying the changes as necessary to provide “certainty for all stakeholders who interact with the planning system” and “reduce unnecessary consultation”. But the changes are mostly about responding to developers’ demands to cut “red” or “green” tape.
In many cases, the state-wide CPP will reduce the level of public consultation — previously determined by councils — required for certain development types.
For example, for some State Significant Developments, which are usually large-scale and high impact, it is proposing to reduce the minimum public exhibition period from 28 days to 14.
The new CPP is part of the government’s business-friendly planning reforms, introduced late last year, aimed at fast-tracking developments.
The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning System Reforms) Act 2025 changed planning laws to significantly weaken environmental considerations while retaining corruption risks highlighted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. It also further centralises decision-making power with the planning minister and a newly-created Development Coordination Authority.
Minns was unequivocal about who the reforms were for, telling big business at the Sydney Investment Summit last year: “We are in the process of making NSW the quickest, the easiest, the most direct state to develop and realise big projects in.”
The reforms change the wording of key planning assessment criteria to focus on considering the “significant” rather than “likely” impacts of development. Authorities can also modify approval conditions for developments they deem to have “minimal or no environmental impact” — a hugely discretionary decision.
The reforms expand the criteria of what qualifies as “complying development” — a combined planning and construction approval process for residential, commercial and industrial projects that can bypass a full development application (DA) subject to certain criteria. While DAs are subject to more rigorous assessment and public consultation requirements, complying development certificates can be issued in a matter of days and, importantly, do not require consultation.
Previously, complying development certificates covered work such as installing air-conditioning units, fences and decks. Now medium-density housing, larger-scale alterations and more commercial uses can be considered complying development.
Examples of previous complying development include granny flats and minor works. This has now expanded to include medium-density housing, larger-scale alterations and more commercial uses.
Residential flat buildings and shop-top housing will be exempt from standard public exhibition and notification if they meet certain criteria; they will only require written notice to neighbours seven days before works start.
The planning reforms also allow “minor variations” to complying development, a worrying precedent that enables worst-practice planning and building.
By expanding the types of development that count as complying development, the reforms strip away local communities’ ability to have a say in projects that were previously subject to public consultation requirements.
The reforms also give a new Housing Delivery Authority powers to prioritise housing projects, assess development proposals and override or bypass local planning processes, such as those governing building heights, design features and surrounding amenity.
This ensures that large-scale developments will be approved faster, with weakened assessment criteria and less public consultation.
Housing that falls in a “transport-oriented development” zone can qualify as complying development, or go through fast-track pathways that require minimal public consultation.
The reforms also introduce a “targeted assessment pathway”, which means the public exhibition period can be skipped and developments can be fast-tracked, if they are deemed to be consistent with previous strategic planning documents.
The original bill which went to the Legislative Assembly last year had fossil fuel projects, electricity stations and concrete works included under “designated development” provisions, meaning such projects would be subject to limited scrutiny within strict deadlines.
However, despite amendments excluding the highest-impact projects, the targeted assessment pathway still allows for environmental considerations to be weakened and there will be a lack of public consultation for many other developments.
The housing affordability crisis is being used as cover to ram through developments that mostly benefit rich landlords and investors, while reducing community input into planning decisions.
The NSW government and developers peddle the lie that “red tape” — tighter regulations, proper public consultation and transparency — is responsible for the housing unaffordability crisis.
However, despite a record five-year high in housing completions last year, prices continue to spiral.
More than 13,000 new homes were built across NSW between July and September last year, but median house prices rose by 6.3% and 7.8% in Sydney and regional NSW, respectively.
Sydney’s median house price is a whopping $1.75 million, and is expected to hit $2 million by the end of the year.
Despite Labor and its developer mates’ propaganda, more housing supply does not translate to affordability, especially in a for-profit housing system.
As long as housing remains highly profitable for developers, they will continue to flood the system with poorly designed and ill-placed dwellings, while under-prioritising less profitable but critical infrastructure, such as schools, transport and healthcare.
[Ben Radford is running as a Socialist Alliance candidate in the Legislative Council in the NSW 2027 election. Submissions to the draft Community Participation Plan can be made here and close on June 3.]