Building planners demand urgent review into SA’s new $40 million planning code

Cheap, easy building approvals are now expensive ordeals because of state planning changes, critics say, but the government insists its changes have been applauded.

The state’s new $40m planning system intended to accelerate building approvals has been slammed by industry professionals who say it is cumbersome, ill-conceived and has “blown-out” processing times and costs.

They have also accused the state government for failing to adequately consult with, and train, those in the industry who have to use a new online planning system – the first in Australia – to lodge and process applications.

But planning Minister Vickie Chapman said she had been “overwhelmed” by industry support for the reforms with the government saying approval times have improved.

Under a protracted and controversial planning shake-up the government phased in from July last year a new planning and design rule book and an online planning portal through which applications are lodged, tracked and approved.

Industry professionals have complained the changes have made simple approvals more costly and time consuming.

Terry Bush, chairman of the SA Accredited Professionals Association, said the intent of the reforms to make the planning system “easier and quick” and make assessment “less complex” had failed.

“Eighty per cent of applications are tied up and becoming more cumbersome just to get into the (ePlanning) system, and when they are in the system the processing time and cost has blown-out,” the director of South Plympton-based certification firm PBS Australia and former director of the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors said.

“Before it would take 20 minutes of work (to approve) a garage and with fees around $150, or thereabouts, now to do a similar garage is one-and-a-half hours and costs fess have increased to around $300 to $400.”

SAAPA, founded in November and representing planning and building certifiers handling hundreds of planning and building applications a year, has called on the government to undertake an “urgent” review of the ePlanning system.

Sozo Nikias, SAAPA member and director of Unley firm Nikias Certification, said building consents were taking longer to process.

“Planning consents for simple verandas and swimming pools now take up to a month or more compared to a few days or maximum of two weeks before,” he said.

He said the system was “ill-conceived” with many identifying it was “not user-friendly and impossible for the public to access” before the initial phase of the reforms were brought in.

“But it still went ahead even though the Plan SA managers knew and had agreed that it was not ready and had many issues; the urgency has been a political decision all along with little consultation involving the industry as a whole,” he said.

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Ms Chapman said she was satisfied that her department had clarified issues raised by Mr Bush.

“The planning department will continue to assist those who have needed extra support in coming to terms with, and learning how to use, the new system,” she said.

“I meet with industry representatives regularly and, I am pleased to say, have been overwhelmed by their support and endorsement of our new ePlanning system.”

Her department said that some fees had increased but others had remained the same or decreased.

A standard house is being approved nearly three times faster under the new planning system when compared to similar developments assessed under the old development act, according to recent approval data held by the government.

More complex developments requiring public notification were also taking on average 41 days to approve compared with 47.5 days previously, according to the data.

But Mr Bush said that did not take into account the amount of time it was taking to lodge applications.

The goverment said the planning department is holding a user group forum every 15 days and runs working groups for building and planning professionals where specific system changes are discussed and feedback is requested.

It said more than 90 training sessions were held involving more than 5000 participants ahead of March 19.

Local Government Association SA acting chief executive Lisa Teburea said councils reported “numerous issues” with the online portal in the first few months of its operation, which had caused delays in processing applications.

“More recently councils have been well supported by PlanSA, with the agency acting quickly to fix errors or working through longer-term solutions,” she said.

“There are always teething issues with major regulatory reforms, and the state government needs to keep working with all stakeholders to ensure that the ePlanning system is more efficient and effective for all users.”