Regular permit applicants should be aware that the Consumer and Planning Legislation Amendment (Housing Statement Reform) Act 2025 (that came into effect on 25 November 2025) makes the following changes to the planning permit application process:
- Responsible authorities (mainly Councils) will be able to take an initial information review in the first 5 business days of receiving a planning application, to check if the supporting information and application fee has been provided. The supporting information includes:
- Any prescribed fee
- Information required by the planning scheme
- A copy of any relevant restrictive covenant and information clearly identifying each allotment or lot benefitted by the covenant
- If after a request the information is not provided, the application will be considered void and of no effect. Where Councils make an information request within 5 business days of receiving an application, the date specified for the applicant to provide the information must be at least 5 business days but can be longer. Council can only make one request for information under this provision. If a planning application is made void under these provisions, the permit applicant is entitled to a refund of the planning application fee. If this 5 business day process is not taken by Council, the standard further information request procedures apply.
- The Planning Minister may issue guidelines to clarify the matters a responsible authority must consider when determining to grant a permit, to assist in identifying who may experience material detriment and therefore how notice (advertising) should be given to.
- The default permit expiry dates have been extended to the following:
- For the commencement of development and use of land, from 2 years to 3 years from the date of the permit issue, if no time is specified in the permit
- For the completion of development of land or any stage of it, from 2 years to 5 years from the date of issue of the planning permit, if no time is specified in the permit
- Where a permitted use of land is discontinued, the expiry date for that use has been extended from 2 years to 3 years
If you have any queries regarding these changes please don’t hesitate to contact our office.
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