Page 1237 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 3 April 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
a major project, the cost of the application could range from several thousand dollars to much, much more.
The minister actually has specific service standards in relation to processing development applications. If the application is classified “code track” then the statutory time frame is 20 working days from the date of lodgement. For the merit and impact track categories the statutory time frame is 30 working days, which increases to 45 days if representations are received in relation to that proposal. The process can be quite wrenching. Then, of course, there is the public consultation period, which could place further stress and demands on the applicant.
Eventually, if the applicant survives all this, they can relax, theoretically, because the system now has a properly completed and lodged DA. The application has ticked all the boxes, it has run the gauntlet and so it should be home and hosed. Or that is what you might think. But, as it turns out, the stress and the strain on applicants is far from done, because there is a significant risk of major processing delays that are beyond the applicant’s control.
Back in July 2014 it took an average of 43 days—this is from July 2014—to process a DA, and at that stage 80 per cent were being processed within statutory time frames. Those were the glory days. Let us fast forward to January 2019, when the directorate’s website indicated the average number of days taken to make a decision was 90 days, in round terms, or more than double the time taken back in 2014. I think of far greater concern is the fact that only 30 per cent were being processed within the statutory time frame. Only 30 per cent!
The minister might say that the workload has gone up compared with 2014, and certainly we allude to that. But the funny thing is that it actually has not gone up all that much. In the 2014-15 financial year a total of 1,193 DAs were lodged and an average of 74 per cent over the year were processed on time. So 1,193, 74 per cent processed on time! Admittedly, the time taken to process those crept up a bit in some months but nowhere near what we are seeing right now.
When we jump to the 2018-19 financial year, if we draw a straight line through what has happened thus far we can extrapolate that around 1,200 applications might be received, or about the same number that were lodged in 2014-15. I cannot see that this is actually a workload problem. But obviously there is a problem somewhere, and it would help us all if the minister explained what that problem is. It is apparent to all of us that it is a problem. I note more press on this in the Canberra Times on the weekend, emanating from Adina Cirson at the Property Council.
To summarise and emphasise, back in July 2014 it was taking an average of 43 days to process a DA against the 20 and 30-day limits. Those processing times were 1.4 to two times those limits, depending on the DA category. In January 2019 it was taking an average of 90 days to process an application against the statutory time frames of 20 and 30 days. That is three to 4½ times the statutory limit.
So we have got to ask ourselves: what is the damage and cost impact being inflicted on DA applicants and what happens to those applications that were not processed on
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video