The New South Wales government is investing almost AU$54 million into 30 top-performing local councils to deliver vital roads, parks, and sporting facilities needed to support rapid housing growth across the state.
Delivered through Round One of the AU$200 million Faster Assessments Incentive Program, the grants reward councils that have successfully cut red tape and accelerated development assessment timeframes.
Combined with local council co-contributions, the funding allocation will drive more than AU$106 million into local infrastructure projects, from Western Sydney to regional centres like Albury and Wagga Wagga.
Recipient councils earned their funding share by meeting or beating the government’s 115-day assessment benchmark for the 2024–25 financial year.
Winning councils now average turnarounds of just 89 days in metropolitan areas and 82 days in regional NSW, representing a speed increase of up to 30 per cent since 2023.
Local councils handle roughly 85 per cent of all housing development applications in NSW, making efficient processing crucial to tackling state-wide housing shortages.
Across NSW, average assessment timeframes have fallen from 116 days down to 82 days following the introduction of targeted planning benchmarks.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the funding ensures necessary facilities are constructed alongside new homes, preventing new communities from facing long infrastructure delays.
“We are rewarding councils that are cutting assessment times and helping deliver the homes NSW needs, because faster decisions mean people can move into new homes sooner,” Scully said.
“We have applied both the carrot and the stick, and now we are seeing results. Councils are stepping up and cutting assessment times and are being rewarded for it.”
Approved projects under this round include major road connection extensions in Bathurst and Orange, accessible playground upgrades in Canada Bay, active transport corridors in Ryde and Parramatta, and upgraded sporting facilities in Shellharbour and Northern Beaches.
Assessments are currently underway for Round Two of the program, which will make AU$67 million available to councils that meet a stricter 105-day performance benchmark for the 2025–26 financial year.
