If you’ve ever tried to build anything in New South Wales, you’ll know the red tape can be brutal. Not to mention the neighbours. Now, the Minns Labor Government is proposing to overhaul the entire approvals process with a suite of planning system reforms designed to speed things up and cut down the bureaucracy.

It's all part of the NSW Planning System Reforms Bill 2025 set to be introduced into Parliament shortly. Part of the new legislation is the creation of a Development Coordination Authority: a new body acting as a single front door for development applications. Instead of bouncing between departments, developers and councils will have a one-stop shop to deal with all government planning agencies.

A new Targeted Assessment Pathway will also be introduced. It’s designed to fast-track projects that have already undergone strategic planning and community consultation, so they don’t get stuck in the same bottlenecks as more contentious developments.

Smaller builds, like modest home extensions or renovations, are set to benefit too. The bill expands Complying Development rules — which means if a council doesn’t make a decision on a small variation within 10 days, it will be deemed approved.

And for larger, state-led housing efforts, the Housing Delivery Authority will be formally enshrined in legislation, ensuring it continues to streamline approvals for major developments across the state.

Fighting back against the NIMBYs

If you're unfamiliar, a "NIMBY" is a term coined to describe the "not-in-my-backyard" types. The ones who think housing needs to change, as long as it doesn't affect their view or lead to more construction near them. Part of the new legislation is directly designed to tackle this NIMBY problem.

The government’s proposed changes include a strict 10-day window for councils to approve minor variations to a Complying Development application — or the application will automatically be deemed approved. That means neighbours who want to delay or derail a modest project — even if it’s already within the zoning rules — will have less time to object, and less ability to weaponise the process.

And for developments that have already been through community consultation during strategic planning (such as rezoning or masterplans), the new Targeted Assessment Pathway will ensure those projects don’t get bogged down in another round of public debate. In other words, if the community has already had their say, the system won’t let them have a second go just to stall.

It’s a deliberate attempt to reduce what Premier Chris Minns calls the “bottlenecks” created by a culture of over-assessment and under-delivery. As he put it: “This bill is about clearing the path for the right development in the right places.”

The winners here are anyone trying to build a home, from young couples renovating a fixer-upper to developers looking to fast-track medium-density housing in areas already zoned for it. This reform is designed to take the pain out of paperwork, especially for routine builds that currently get held up by unnecessarily complex approval pathways.

It also helps local councils, who are often caught in the middle between planning policy, community pushback and legal risk. With clearer rules, shorter timeframes and less duplication, councils will be under less pressure to micromanage minor developments and can focus on projects that genuinely require scrutiny.