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The NSW government is looking to spend the $5.6 million it has apportioned to developing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions as a way to speed up development application (DA) approvals.
The state’s Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) is calling on tech firms to submit proposals for products that can help reduce manual workloads and assist councils during the pre-lodgement phase of development applications.
Assuring councils and communities that this project is not looking to replace human resources with AI tools, the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, said he hopes the government will field tech solutions that “free [planners] up from repetitive daily tasks so that they can focus on more complex DAs”.
As such, the NSW government is looking for proposals for four specific products:
- A “pathways and requirements finder” to help prospective applicants identify site-specific development requirements to speed up their development process.
- A document health check to identify any potential barriers or gaps in applicants’ documentation before they lodge.
- Risk-based triage to help council staff quickly identify non-compliant elements within a submission.
- Document assurance to verify an applicant’s documentation.
Applications will be accepted through 11 March, at which point the government will create a shortlist of suitable products that will be invited to be presented to councils. This process is expected to help DPHI confirm a list of suitable AI products and provide guidance for councils on how to engage with suppliers and integrate the tools.
Mr Scully noted that more than 30 metro and regional councils have participated in workshops to identify the types of tools that would be most suitable for speeding up DA time frames.
He emphasised the importance of providing tools on the local level, with councils “responsible for determining approximately 85 per cent of all new dwellings in NSW”.
“Introducing more AI features into our planning system is about working smarter so that councils can assess DAs faster, which helps to build more homes where they are needed most.
“Using AI tools will help us cut down DA assessment times, saving proponents, councils, developers and taxpayers valuable time and money,” he said.
He said that the department is also trialling AI tools, such as chatbots and automated document processing, to support triage queries and enhance response times for the state’s Planning Portal.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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