Home approval may be cut to 5 days

UP to 95 per cent of residential development applications on the Gold Coast will be approved within five days under a project announced by the Rudd Government yesterday.

Federal Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek unveiled the $3.65 million Target Five Days Project and the $1.1 million Next Generation Planning Project while in the region yesterday.

The initiatives, which will be paid for by the Housing Affordability Fund, promise to cut processing times for 95 per cent of residential applications to five days and standardise residential housing codes and policies across southeast Queensland.

Property organisations on the Coast cautiously welcomed the news, hopeful the plan would deliver a partial solution to the millions of dollars in projects being lost to the city each year as a result of delays in council approvals, land shortages and high infrastructure charges.

Property Council Gold Coast committee chairman Peter Trathen said anything that could be done to increase the speed of council approvals was a step in the right direction.

"At this stage we are unsure of the details and would like more information about the schemes, but it looks positive at face value," said Mr Trathen. "The need for fast approvals is one of the top 10 priorities for the Gold Coast."

Mr Trathen said he hoped an improvement in simple residential approvals would mean big projects were dealt with more quickly.

"If we can get the low-risk applications done in five days then council staff could be freed up for major developments," he said.

Mr Trathen said it was not unusual for large developments to be stalled for 18 months to two years waiting for council approval.

"Application delays are a key factor pushing developers to go elsewhere or not build at all," he said. "The shortage of land and council infrastructure costs are also impacting."

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