General News
13 January, 2025
Reducing red tape barriers
DEVELOPERS are delighted with moves by Cairns Regional Council to reduce red tape and streamline development approvals.
UDIA Cairns branch president Nathan Lee Long said, although the Express DA (development application) program remained limited to select applications, “it is envisaged that the streamlining of these applications will increase workforce capacity to enable (the) council to meet the legislated assessment timeframes for larger applications to deliver homes sooner”.
“We continue to encourage (the) council to consider further expansion of the Express DA program to include low-risk applications for reconfiguring a lot and operational works directly related to the creation of new housing lots to have a greater impact on delivering more homes,” he said.
In July 2023, the council launched the first phase of its Express DA program to streamline and accelerate assessment of low-risk and uncomplicated development applications.
“With a focus on houses, dual occupancies and building works in the low density, low-medium density and medium density residential zones, the initiative has been successful in facilitating faster approvals for low-risk applications, reducing unnecessary congestion and delays, and encouraging consistency and quality in development outcomes,” a council spokesman said.
“(The) council has now moved to expand the Express DA program, which continues to commit to deliver eligible approvals within 10 business days of lodgement, far quicker than the 35 business days available under the Planning Act,” he said.
“Notably, average approval timeframes of six business days have been achieved under the Express DA initiative, and there has been positive feedback in regard to the efficiency and simplicity of the process.”
Mayor Amy Eden said the expansion of this initiative was aimed at further improving efficiencies, delivering accelerated approval times and unlocking delivery of housing across the region.
“This expansion builds on the lessons learned from phase 1, acts on the feedback we have received, reduced bottlenecks, and further facilitated sustainable growth our region,” she said.
“It is about streamlining approvals and facilitating the faster delivery of much-needed housing delivery to support growth.”
Under phase 2 of the Express DA initiative, eligibility criteria has been broadened to capture
additional zoning and the introduction of additional and development types, such as access crossovers and driveways, and excavation and filling up to 50 cubic metres.
“The expanded criteria reflect (the) council’s ongoing commitment to facilitating high-quality development outcomes while maintaining the integrity of the planning system,” the spokesman said.
“Importantly, this initiative has been in consultation with the industry,” he said.
