Project Background

The Development Assessment Forum (DAF) recognised the need to streamline development application processes, and in 2002 commenced its eDA project. DAF established a National eDA Steering Committee to oversee the eDA project. Western Australia was appointed by DAF as the Chair of the National eDA Steering Committee.

eDA refers to the electronic processing of planning and development applications. It covers the whole lifecycle from investigation through lodgement, referral, request-for-information to determination and covers the full range of planning and development activities of sub-division, change-of-use, regulated use and building.

The adoption of eDA will enable local government to streamline their planning approval processes. The software will improve the efficiency and speed up those processes, as well as enable electronic data exchange between councils, developers, builders, third parties and referral organizations.

eDA will provide greater certainty and efficiency in the development and construction sector by reducing regulatory burden and delays. It will also reduce builders’ costs which they can pass on to home buyers.

Status Report

All levels of government are moving to stream line planning and approval processes to reduce development costs and improve housing affordability. The States and Territories are reforming their planning legislation and processes.

On 3 March, 2008, the Prime Minister, Hon Kevin Rudd MP, announced that the Commonwealth would commit up to $30 million from its Housing Affordability Fund (HAF) to assist local councils across Australia to introduce electronic development assessment (eDA) systems.

On March 27th 2008, the Local Government Planning Ministers’ Council (LGPMC) endorsed eDA as follows:

AGREED that funding and grants related to eDA would be conditional upon compliance with the eDA Interoperability Specification (eDAIS), as developed, and agreed to, by the Development Assessment Forum.

In June 2008, the Minister for Housing, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, announced that of the $30 milllion HAF, $3.6 million is to fund the further development of the eDAIS over the next three years.

In September 2008, COAG’s Local Government and Planning Ministers’ Council established a Ministerial Sub-Group on Development Assessment Reform to expedite and streamline development assessment processes. eDA is one of five projects that the Sub-Group is progressing.

In 2011, the eDA projects reached a conclusion and a National-ePlanning-Vision-2011 was published.

Documents of relevance

•COAG Communiqe Attachment A – 2 July 2009

•DAF Leading Practice Model for Development Assessment

•Benefit Cost Analysis for Electronic Development Assessment