Page 3276 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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governance. The amendment that we seek today will give the government an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to these obligations. And in doing so it will give consumers and stakeholders in the development assessment process a welcome boost to their confidence.
Amendment negatived.
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Manager of Government Business, Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Advanced Technology and Space Industries) (3.28), by leave: I move:
Omit all text after paragraph (1)(d), substitute:
“(e) Planning and Land Authority has introduced a new staged assessment model to efficiently assess DAs and manage staff workload; and
(f) ACT Budget 2019-20 provided funding for an additional six DA assessors; and
(2) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) undertake regular monitoring of compliance with statutory timeframes for assessment of DAs;
(b) undertake regular monitoring of DA workloads to ensure applicants’ requirements are met within prescribed timeframes; and
(c) ensure staff in the DA assessment and processing areas are appropriately oversighted to avoid negative health impacts arising from stressful workload levels.”.
As I was saying earlier, the directorate has seen an increase in the number of applications. In 2017-18 it saw a 20 per cent increase compared to the number of applications lodged in the 2016-17 financial year. The trend has continued in the 2018-19 financial year.
In addition to the significant increase in the number of applications, the authority is continuing to receive a large number of complex development proposals that are attracting significant community interest and demand substantial resourcing in the assessment and decision stages.
To address this increase in demand, we have funded an additional six development assessors as part of the 2019 budget. If those opposite were truly committed to improving the DA process, they would have voted for the budget. Instead those opposite have again showed their lack of support for development assessment by voting against the budget for a second year in a row.
In addition to the extra staff that this government has funded, the authority has undertaken a number of initiatives to increase its output and respond to the increased demand. This includes reassigning staff to assist in key areas, implementing voluntary overtime opportunities, having external resourcing through short-term contract arrangements, and implementing a new staged assessment model. This new staged
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