ResidentialPatrick LauTue 22 Sep 26
‘League Table’ Reveals Fastest Councils to Process DAs in NSW
A City of Newcastle report has found that the Accelerated Development Application system and other planning initiatives have cut assessment timeframes by two weeks in the Steel City.
However, councils along the coastal stretch between Sydney and Newcastle are struggling with huge volumes of development applications, according to state data.
The “council league table” reveals that Lake Macquarie, the Central Coast and Northern Beaches took the top three positions in the number of applications assessed during the 2025-26 financial year.
Lake Macquarie assessed the most applications of any local government area in NSW, with 1634 applications equivalent to a development cost of $1.4 billion. Of those, 73 per cent met the expected timeframe of 104 days.
However, on the Central Coast only 57 per cent of the 127 applications (with a total value of $877 million) were handled in the 105-day timeframe.
On the Northern Beaches, the 1158 applications worth $1.01 billion had a 51 per cent success rate against the target of 86 days.
Meanwhile, the Newcastle report, which was due to be presented to councillors on September 22, found that the value of all approvals in that LGA (including those progressed through state pathways) grew 47 per cent to $1.42 billion in the 2025-26 financial year.
Council approvals alone reached $528 million and 76 per cent were assessed within the target timeframe of 78 days. Of the 1017 applications, the average time to a determination was just 65 days, compared to a state average of 84 days.
Large projects approved and under development in the city include a $190-million, 280-home scheme on Bull Street by GWH [pictured at top].
Also under way are a $121-million, 191-apartment mixed-use development on Hunter Street; and a $129-million, 450-bed student project by the University of Newcastle.
Newcastle executive director of planning Michelle Bisson said that “we are continuing to exceed NSW Government assessment expectations while managing one of the State’s highest development assessment workloads”.
“This was acknowledged with the maximum funding allowance of $3 million under Round 1 of the NSW Government’s Faster Assessments Incentive Program, which will contribute to the Union Street streetscape renewal project in Wickham,” Bisson said.
The council has also benefited from a $2 million state grant to develop a program extending its planning framework to other councils.
Elsewhere in the state, the City of Sydney handled the largest cumulative value of assessments, at $3.4 billion. The 1003 projects were assessed at an average of 64 days.
In Ku-ring-gai, the 346 applications representing $1.7 billion were assessed at a 73 per cent success rate against a target of 105 days. And in Liverpool, the 392 projects worth $1.7 billion were assessed against a target of 105 days, with just 40 per cent meeting that rate.
