Refining Australia’s best planning system

Media Release: Minister for Planning, Nick Champion

The Government is adopting more than 100 recommendations to make the nation’s best planning system even more efficient and user-friendly, following an extensive review by an expert panel.

Highlights of the supported recommendations include:

• appeal rights for over-height developments in some circumstances
• stronger tree protections
• broader heritage protection with improved design guidelines
• more demolition controls
• increased car parking provisions
• improving incentives to encourage a greater provision of affordable housing.

The Malinauskas Labor Government made an election commitment to commission an implementation review of the PDI Act and the Code, which included the establishment of a Panel to oversee the Implementation Review Project.

The panel’s view is that the planning system is working well, and the evidence provided throughout the public consultation indicated there is broad support for the new system which was implemented in 2021.

According to the Business Council of Australia, South Australia has the best urban planning system in the nation, leading the country in our efficiency, consistency, certainty and transparency.

The recommendations do not propose any wholesale change to the planning system as it currently exists. Rather it is fine tuning what is already in place, to ensure the system is working at its full capacity, and in the best interests of South Australians.

Of the 113 recommendations made by the Panel:

• 63 have been fully supported for implementation
• 13 are supported in principle
• 36 are supported in principle, but require further investigation
• 1 is not supported for implementation.

Of the 63 recommendations which have been fully supported for implementation, 16 are early recommendations for which implementation has either commenced or already been completed. This includes strengthened heritage and character protections and enhancements to the e-planning system PlanSA.

Two members of the Planning System Implementation Review Panel – it’s Chair, Mr John Stimson and Ms Lisa Tebura - have been appointed to the State Planning Commission to provide continuity and oversight to the intent of the panel’s recommendations.

To enable the Department for Trade and Investment to implement the Expert Panel’s recommendations, the State Government has approved expenditure of $450,000 from the Planning and Development Fund to resource amendments to the regulations and the Code.

In the Mid-Year Budget Review, the Government approved a budget of $3.8 million to implement the e-Planning related recommendations.

The Government’s response is available on the Planning Review website.