One door, many agencies: How the DCA will change NSW planning
Today marks one of the most significant changes to the NSW planning system in recent years, with the Development Coordination Authority (DCA) officially commencing its expanded role as the central coordination point for NSW Government agency referrals.
Much of the discussion around the reforms has focused on improving the assessment of local development applications and supporting the delivery of new housing. However, there are also important implications for state significant development (SSD) projects that proponents, consultants and project teams should understand.
While the core SSD assessment pathway remains largely unchanged, the way government agencies contribute to assessments is evolving.
A new way of coordinating agency advice
Historically, projects requiring input from multiple government agencies have often involved navigating separate referral processes, differing priorities and varying response timeframes. For complex projects, this can create duplication, inconsistent advice and delays while agencies work through technical issues independently.
The DCA has been established to address exactly that challenge by providing a single coordination point for agency engagement across planning pathways. It will bring together expertise from multiple NSW Government agencies to provide coordinated advice, resolve conflicting positions where possible, and streamline the referral process. The reforms also consolidate hundreds of referral triggers that were previously spread across numerous planning instruments into a single framework.
What changes for SSD projects?
For proponents working on SSD, the assessment process itself will feel familiar. Environmental impact assessments, public exhibition and determination processes remain the same.
The most notable change occurs much earlier in the process.
Individual government agency consultation will no longer be required during preparation of the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs). Instead, the DCA will coordinate consolidated agency input before the SEARs are issued, creating a more centralised approach to defining assessment requirements.
Other key changes include:
a standard 28-day timeframe for referral assessments
new referral assessment fees
a review pathway for DCA-recommended conditions of consent
a new DCA "front door" service to help proponents and consultants navigate agency referrals and enquiries
What could this mean in practice?
The intent behind these reforms is clear: reduce duplication, improve consistency and create greater accountability for agency engagement.
If the system operates as intended, project teams may benefit from:
more coordinated government advice
fewer conflicting agency requests during assessment
greater certainty around referral timeframes
a simpler process for engaging with government agencies
That said, reforms of this scale inevitably involve a bedding-in period. The practical success of the DCA will depend on how effectively it coordinates technical advice across agencies while maintaining the depth of expertise that complex projects require.
For SSD projects in particular, there are still questions that will become clearer over the coming months. How will the DCA interact with modification applications? How will post-consent matters be managed? What will technical discussions with specialist agencies look like under the new model? These are all areas the industry will be watching closely as implementation progresses.
Looking ahead
Overall, we're optimistic about the direction of these reforms. Creating a single point of coordination has the potential to make planning approvals more efficient without changing the rigorous assessment standards that apply to major projects. Better coordination should ultimately mean project teams spend less time navigating process and more time addressing the environmental, technical and community issues that matter.
As the DCA moves from policy into practice, we'll be keeping a close eye on how the reforms are implemented, particularly during these early months and ahead of the next tranche of planning reforms expected in October 2026.
To learn more about the Development Coordination Authority and the reforms now in effect, visit the NSW Department of Planning's Development Coordination Authority.
