Council
13 May, 2026
Minister Demands Shake-Up At Wingecarribee
The Government has issued a blunt warning to council over its development assessment performance, with Planning Minister Paul Scully signalling council could face further intervention if sweeping reforms are not adopted by the end of June.
The NSW Government’s Action Plan for Wingecarribee Shire Council is now public.
The Government has issued a blunt warning to council over its development assessment performance, with Planning Minister Paul Scully signalling council could face further intervention if sweeping reforms are not adopted by the end of June.
The Action Plan, revealed in a letter included in business papers for next week’s council meeting, was sent by Mr Scully to Mayor Jesse Fitzpatrick following a review by an expert planner into council’s development assessment processes.
“I expect Council to endorse the action plan in its entirety,” Mr Scully wrote.
The Minister warned that should council fail to adopt the action plan before the end of June, he would consult with the Minister for Local Government and “together we will determine the appropriate next steps from the NSW Government.”
The Minister said the Department had advised him there would likely be a “measurable improvement” in council’s development application assessment timeframes if the action plan was implemented in full.
The Department will monitor council’s progress monthly and Mr Scully said he expected to see improvements “within three months”.
The action plan outlines a major overhaul of the way development applications are handled within the Shire.
Among the most significant targets are:
reducing pre-lodgement adequacy reviews from 20 days to seven days,
ensuring pre-lodgement meeting minutes are issued within five days,
requiring referral advice from internal council divisions within 14 days for simple matters and 21 days for complex matters,
ensuring all development assessment reports and notices of determination are reviewed by a senior officer within three days,
requiring each planner to finalise a minimum of six development applications per month,
and clearing all “legacy DAs” older than 180 days by the end of June.
The action plan also requires council to introduce KPIs across multiple parts of the DA process.
The Department specifically identified problems including:
“Arrangement of information on website discourages customers from self-serving and accessing information to inform the preparation of development applications”,
“Service standards not specified for pre-lodgement services”,
“Assessment officers time applied to adequacy reviews rather than assessment of applications”,
“Need for resources to assist Development and Regulatory Support team in conducting pre-lodgement reviews”,
“Delays in receiving referral advice from experts within Communities and Place division”,
Advertisement“Absence of performance targets prevents performance management and self-assessment by staff”,
“Reviews being made by multiple parties. Consequential inefficient use of time, variable approach to assessments”,
“Officers caution in accepting recommendations of consultant planners, delaying finalisation of assessments”,
and “Limited information available on website on development applications”.
The wording of the review amounts to a significant criticism of council’s internal planning systems, leadership and management processes.
Under the proposed reforms, council staff will also be directed to:
prepare standard assessment templates,
establish service level agreements between council divisions,
upload assessment reports, notices of determination and stamped plans online,
create a “fast-track assessment” pathway for low-impact developments,
and conduct “clearing house meetings” to resolve technical issues before referrals are required.
The action plan states council must ensure all legacy DAs are cleared by the end of June 2026.
The Minister will now require planners to complete adequacy reviews within four days of submission and provide applicants three days to make payment.
The action plan also proposes changes to consultant management, stating that where consultants disagree with recommendations, applications are to be reported directly to the Director for determination.
The Minister further directed that all consultant assessments be finalised within 20 days for manager review.
Mr Scully said council was expected to reduce end-to-end DA assessment timeframes to 105 days before reducing them again to 95 days from July 2026.
“I hope that Wingecarribee Shire Council can work to improve development assessment timeframes and approvals, to deliver additional homes and jobs for the local community as quickly and efficiently as possible,” he wrote.
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