A total of 44 councils across New South Wales are set to share in up to $73 million in infrastructure funding after reducing development assessment times and meeting the state’s latest planning performance benchmark.
The funding is being made available through Round 2 of the Faster Assessments Incentive Program, which rewards higher-growth councils that process development applications more quickly.
The successful councils recorded an average assessment time of 78 days in 2025–26, compared with 86 days a year earlier, and all met the state’s 105-day benchmark.
44 Councils Qualify in Second Round
The number of councils meeting the benchmark has increased from 35 in the first round to 44 in Round 2.
Eligible councils will be able to access grants of up to $3 million each for infrastructure that supports housing growth, including:
- Roads and intersections
- Parks and open space
- Community facilities
- Sporting and recreation infrastructure
- Footpaths and active transport connections
- Public-domain improvements
The broader Faster Assessments Incentive Program provides up to $200 million over three years for councils that improve development assessment performance.
Councils assess nearly 85 per cent of housing development applications in NSW, making local assessment times a significant factor in the state’s housing pipeline.
Sutherland Cuts Assessment Times by 80 Days
Some of the largest improvements came from councils that previously sat above the government benchmark.
Sutherland Shire Council reduced its average assessment time from 177 days to 97 days, an improvement of 80 days in a single year.
Other major improvements included:
- Willoughby: 88 days faster, now averaging 101 days
- Hawkesbury: 74 days faster, now averaging 76 days
- Ballina: 59 days faster, now averaging 90 days
- Tweed: 58 days faster, now averaging 93 days
- Queanbeyan-Palerang: 55 days faster, now averaging 90 days
- Burwood: 44 days faster, now averaging 58 days
- North Sydney: 43 days faster, now averaging 83 days
Across all successful councils, average improvement was around 25 days.
Faster Assessments Linked to Infrastructure Funding
The incentive program is targeted at medium- and high-growth councils expected to accommodate a large share of NSW’s housing demand.
Eligibility is generally limited to councils with housing targets above 1,000 dwellings, or regional councils with implied housing demand above that level during the Housing Accord period.
Successful councils do not receive unrestricted funding. Grants must be used on infrastructure supporting new housing and are generally required to be delivered by 30 June 2029.
Round 1 provided $53.86 million in NSW Government funding across 30 infrastructure projects, alongside $52.18 million in council contributions, creating more than $106 million in combined local infrastructure investment.
Planning Support Expanded Across NSW
The faster assessment results follow several measures aimed at improving council planning performance.
The NSW Government has used its Expert Planner Program to place experienced planners in councils dealing with backlogs and process issues.
It has also announced free training for up to 950 council development assessment officers across all 128 NSW councils through the NSW Planning Practice Program.
Other initiatives include the statewide rollout of accelerated assessment processes for low-risk applications and a $2.7 million program examining the use of artificial intelligence to help councils reduce assessment times.
Infrastructure Funding Accompanies Housing Growth
The $200 million Faster Assessments Incentive Program sits alongside other state infrastructure programs intended to support higher housing density.
These include:
- $520 million for open space and active transport around Transport Oriented Development precincts
- $40 million through the Better Open Spaces program for parks, sports fields, swimming locations and civic spaces.
The Government says faster planning decisions are intended to move more approved housing projects toward construction while ensuring councils have funding to support population growth.
NSW currently has more than 80,000 homes under construction, the highest level recorded in the state in seven years. Recent parliamentary figures put the total at approximately 80,522 dwellings under construction.
With 44 councils now qualifying for Round 2, the latest funding round links improved development assessment performance directly with investment in local roads, parks and community infrastructure.
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