News
18 November, 2025
Upper Lachlan Council shows significant improvement in DA assessment times
Upper Lachlan Council continues to show significant improvement in its DA assessment times. Council has met the NSW Planning Minister’s expectation of 105 days for 89 per cent of its applications this year.
Upper Lachlan Council continues to show significant improvement in its DA assessment times.
Council has met the NSW Planning Minister’s expectation of 105 days for 89 per cent of its applications this year.
The state average is 72 per cent for the financial year to date – although Upper Lachlan receives fewer development applications than other regional councils.
The average number of days it takes Upper Lachlan to assess DAs has dropped from 137 last year to just 51 for the year to date.
Council had 15 outstanding planning/development applications at the time of its September meeting but only one of them – 283 days for a 50 lot subdivision – fell outside the Minister’s expected timeframe.
It still has some work to do in the lodgement space with only 15 per cent of applications – three out of 20 – lodged within the expected timeframe of 15 days.
Assessment times have been an ongoing source of frustration across the state, prompting Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully to issue the Environment Planning and Assessment (Statement of Expectations) Order on July 1 last year.
The Order set a 115-day timeframe for DA assessment last year which has dropped to 105 days this year and will continue to drop to 95 days in 2026/27 and 85 days from July 2027 onwards.
If a council fails to meet expected timeframes the Minister can take further action such as appointing a planning administrator.
Councils with slow DA processing times have also been told they will miss out on State Government funding for community infrastructure projects with Wingecarribee Shire Council one of the worst offenders.
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