An inflection point for development assessment in New South Wales

Housing targets are accelerating. Population growth is rising. Planning reform is intensifying.

Councils are under pressure to deliver faster, more transparent decisions while maintaining quality, compliance and community outcomes. Yet many planners are still working with legacy systems and manual processes not designed for the complexity of planning. Progress is being made, but much of it relies on planner effort, and that approach will not scale.

To meet the scale of the housing challenge, a different approach is needed. The 1.2 million homes target and projected 106,000 shortfall by 2027 will not be achieved through incremental improvements alone. PlanTech, purpose-built for planning, offers a way forward. Objective Build simplifies workflows, connects information, and supports more consistent decisions. It reduces administrative burden and accelerates assessment timelines. Most importantly, it gives planners time back to focus on decisions that shape communities. 

Can the planning system keep pace with housing demand?

Across Australia, and particularly in New South Wales, planning is at a turning point. The scale of the challenge is now undeniable.

The National Housing Accord has set a target of 1.2 million new homes between 2024 and 2029 a step-change in delivery that requires every part of the planning system to perform at a higher level. Understandably, this is a response to housing demand outpacing supply. Australia faces a projected shortfall of 106,000 homes by 2027 if current trends persist.

In NSW, this pressure is most visible in Sydney where population growth, economic concentration and infrastructure demands converge. Without coordinated action, this trajectory risks compounding affordability challenges, congestion, inequality and an erosion of neighbourhood character.

This is not simply about building more homes. It is about where, how and how quickly we deliver them and whether the system can keep pace. Just as importantly, it is about protecting the liveability and environmental standards planners work hard to uphold and the essence of our community that makes us Australian.

The reality on the ground: reform is accelerating, but complexity remains.

NSW is already responding. Recent reforms including low and mid-rise housing policies, NSW Transport Oriented Development (TOD) programs and planning system modernisation are designed to unlock supply in well-located areas and accelerate approvals.

Assessment timeframes are improving, with average DA determination times reducing significantly in recent years. This reflects the tenacity and focus of planners streamlining workflows, sharing best practices, and applying templates to standardise processes. But there is a limit.

Much of this progress is people-driven, layered on top of cumbersome systems and growing complexity. As volumes rise and reform accelerates, incremental improvements alone will not keep pace. Because planning isn’t simple and planners aren’t just processing applications, they’re interpreting legislation, weighing environmental impacts and responding to unique, often competing, community needs.

At the same time, public and political sentiment is shifting. Support for well-located density near transport and jobs is increasing, creating rare alignment between community expectations and planning objectives.

Yet on the ground, planners are still navigating evolving layers of policy and compliance and tightening time-frames to complete development assessment, in the face of:

  • Cumbersome systems and workflows
  • Significant manual effort
  • Rising expectation from within the government and the community

To respond at the scale required, a step change in capability is needed.

Sydney as a case study: from housing supply to place-based outcomes

Sydney highlights both the challenge and the opportunity. Density is no longer optional. It is a necessary response to the housing crisis, particularly when aligned with transport and infrastructure. TOD is reshaping how housing is delivered, integrating land use and infrastructure to support growth and accessibility.

At the same time, planners are balancing:

  • Housing supply with affordability and inclusion
  • Growth with climate resilience and decarbonisation
  • Heritage with growth, density and liveability
  • Delivery with community trust, transparency and engagement

Planning is no longer just regulatory. Planners are the enablers that connect policy, infrastructure, community and place.

Why PlanTech is now critical and not optional

This is where the gap becomes clear. While policy reform is accelerating, the technology supporting planners has not kept pace.  Too often, councils are relying on generic, process-driven systems adapted from broader enterprise platforms that were never designed for the complexity of planning. These approaches can introduce more steps, more friction, and more administrative overhead, rather than removing it.

But planning is not a generic workflow. It requires navigating legislation, interpreting policy, balancing competing priorities, and applying professional judgement, consistently and transparently. This is where PlanTech comes in.

Aligned with the Planning Institute of Australia’s PlanTech principles, the opportunity is not just digitisation but purpose-built capability that enables:

  • Streamlined, end-to-end workflows designed specifically for development assessment
  • Consistent and transparent decision-making, supported by structured processes and clear audit trails
  • Data-driven insights to support evidence-based planning outcomes

Most importantly, effective PlanTech reduces the number of steps between application and outcome and in doing so, it gives planners something increasingly scarce, time. Time to focus on what matters applying expertise, making informed decisions, and shaping better outcomes for their communities. Because the goal isn’t just to digitise the process. It’s to create a planning system that is simpler, faster, more transparent, and ultimately more effective.

Co-innovation in action: designed by planners, for planners

Objective Build has been developed through co-innovation with six metropolitan NSW councils. The result:

  • Development assessment connected end-to-end
  • Data for insights and better decisions
  • Development assessment aligned dynamically in sync with NSW legislation
  • Integration with the NSW Planning Portal and spatial tools
  • AI-enabled capabilities to surface insights and give time back to planners

This is not technology imposed on planning. It is technology shaped by planners.

From reform pressure to real progress

NSW stands at a critical moment. Without the right systems, delivery slows, decisions become inconsistent, and pressure on planners continues to grow exacerbating workforce shortages and eroding community trust.

Planners are the backbone of our communities, quietly navigating complex legislation, environmental constraints and competing priorities to shape how we live and grow.

With the right combination of policy, people and PlanTech, a different future is possible one where decisions are faster, more consistent and more transparent, helping communities grow with confidence.

See what’s possible

Join the Future of Development Assessment webinar on Tuesday 5th May (11:00 –11:30am AEST) hosted by Andrea Breen, Global Vice President at Objective where you’ll what’s possible when you co-innovate with planners and focus on community outcomes.  Register here.