If building or renovating is on your radar, you'll know approvals can make or break a timeline.
The good news? Things are speeding up locally. The trick has been a little more checking upfront to help development applications move more smoothly overall.
Since the NSW Government introduced the Council League Table in 2024, councils are now benchmarked on how quickly development applications, or DAs, are processed. You can view the latest results online, which show Eurobodalla Council keeping pace:
Between July and December last year, Council assessed 227 applications, with decisions taking an average of 66 days, well inside the state benchmark of 105 days. Even better, 86 percent of applications were determined within the required timeframe, up from 71 percent in the previous period.
How are we shaving off time? The goal is to give people answers sooner so projects aren't left in limbo. In the past, applications sometimes entered the system missing key information and then sat on hold for months, sometimes more than a year, while extra details were gathered. Under the government's new benchmarks, we can't afford those delays.
Our DA team is working with applicants to make sure submissions are assessment-ready before entering the system. Missing plans, unpaid fees or incomplete reports can slow things later, and the state league table counts every calendar day, even while applications wait on extra information.
So while it might feel tougher when an application is returned at the pre-lodgement stage it means once it's lodged, assessment can move straight to a decision because everything needed is already there.
Behind the scenes, we have trained up staff to step in earlier so projects don't stall. And we hear you, the NSW planning portal can feel like a beasty machine - tricky to navigate if you're not using it every day. That's why we encourage applicants to pick up the phone and call our humans behind the DA Helpdesk first - 4474 1231.
This story was first published in Council's quarterly newsletter for residents, Living in Eurobodalla. A printed edition is delivered to Eurobodalla's 26,000 households.
