SUMMARY
This is the second of four briefing papers the Parliamentary Research
Service intends to publish on the proposed reform of the planning system in
NSW. Appendix 1 presents an overview of the proposed system as set out in the
Planning White Paper and the relevant Exposure Bills.
In April 2013 the NSW Government entered a new stage of its ongoing reforms
to the planning system with the release of A New Planning System for NSW:
White Paper and two associated Exposure Bills. These documents set out in
detail the proposed changes to the planning system. Infrastructure is the focus
of a number of major changes, and the reforms are intended to bring about more
coordinated and efficient infrastructure planning. This paper considers several
aspects of infrastructure planning and delivery under the proposed planning
system, and the response from a number of key stakeholders.
The key points of difference between infrastructure planning under the
current system and that proposed in the White Paper according to the NSW
Government are set out in Table 1 below. A summary of each reform is provided
subsequently.
Table 1 – Summary of changes to infrastructure
planning
| Current
system |
White Paper proposals |
Strategic integration of plans |
· Infrastructure planning independent of land use planning
· Different kinds of infrastructure planned on an individual agency basis
· No requirement for coordination of infrastructure provision in greenfield
areas
· Most infrastructure not shown in local planning instruments (LEPs)
· No requirement for different planning documents to be coordinated
|
· Infrastructure and land use planning to occur in concert with each
other
· Infrastructure to be planned, prioritised and staged according to housing and
employment growth
· Planning to occur on spatial basis, with all infrastructure needs for an area
determined concurrently
· Infrastructure planning to be co-ordinated and consistent across strategic
plans (NSW Planning Policies, Regional Growth Plans, Subregional Delivery
Plans, and Local Plans), and infrastructure plans (Growth Infrastructure Plans
and Local Infrastructure Plans)
· Growth Infrastructure Plans to prioritise and identify funding for
infrastructure in growth areas
· Local Infrastructure Plans to identify proposed local infrastructure required
to support growth and act as basis for local infrastructure contributions
|
Contestable infrastructure |
· Limited opportunities for private sector involvement in some
infrastructure provision, primarily in the delivery and operational phases
· Rigid development approvals process for major infrastructure restricts
innovation in design and delivery
|
· Greater opportunity for involvement of the private sector in all phases
· All Growth Infrastructure Plans to include contestability assessment, which
will consider opportunities for private sector involvement at all stages
including design, construction and operation
· Less restrictive infrastructure approvals will allow for greater private
sector innovation after consent has been granted
|
Public Priority Infrastructure |
· Existing major infrastructure works approved as State Significant
Infrastructure (SSI), or critical State Significant Infrastructure
· SSI and critical SSI approved by Minister after community consultation and
detailed environmental assessment
|
· Two forms of infrastructure approval, State Infrastructure Development
(modified SSI) and a new form of approval, Public Priority Infrastructure (PPI)
· Declared PPI up front by Minister when identifying infrastructure project
· Approval not required once declared PPI
· Subsequent PPI assessment focussed on identifying, avoiding and mitigating
impacts
|
Regional infrastructure funding |
· Regional infrastructure funded by combination of general revenue, and
Special Infrastructure Contribution on greenfield development
· No regional infrastructure contributions paid by development in infill
areas
|
· Regional infrastructure funded by combination of general revenue, and
regional infrastructure contributions
· Regional infrastructure to be specified in Growth Infrastructure Plans, and
levied for under provisions in Local Plans
· Both greenfield and infill development to contribute towards regional
infrastructure
· Contributions to be levied on regional or subregional basis (larger than
LGA)
· Two funds to be established for each region, one for general works and one
for land acquisition for open space and drainage
|
Local infrastructure funding |
· Collected by local governments under s. 94 plans
· Limited by $20,000 cap
· Works identified and costed by local councils
· No restrictions on spending timeframe
· Minimal role for IPART (monitoring small number of plans that exceed cap)
|
· Collected by local government under Local Plans
· No cap imposed
· Works identified by Council, costed according to set of benchmark costs
calculated by IPART
· Funds to be spent within three years, with annual auditing requirements
· IPART to have greater role in assessing reasonableness of contributions,
including review of all plans
|
Planning agreements |
· Consent authorities allowed wide discretion in negotiating voluntary
planning agreements with developers for the provision of infrastructure
|
· Planning agreements will be used only in “exceptional
circumstances”, and be restricted to works that are identified in an
existing infrastructure plan
|
Growth Infrastructure Plans
Growth Infrastructure Plans will stand outside the formal strategic planning
hierarchy. Their precise relationship with strategic plans is unclear, but the
White Paper states that GIPs will be prepared concurrently gith Subregional
Delivery Plans. As outlined in the Planning Bill, GIPs will be prepared by the
Director-General (the White Paper comments that they will be “prepared by
the NSW Government including UrbanGrowth NSW”), and made by the Minister.
Growth Infrastructure Plans will form the basis of spatial infrastructure
planning, a process in which the infrastructure needs of an area are considered
as a totality and incorporating a number of infrastructure agencies. They will
prioritise infrastructure works in an area, and require the concurrence of the
Treasurer or Secretary of the Treasury. As specified in the Planning Bill,
Growth Infrastructure Plans must also “identify the regional
infrastructure for which a regional infrastructure contribution may be
imposed,” as well as contain a contestability assessment. [3.0]
Contestable infrastructure
Contestability assessments are a new element of the infrastructure planning
process proposed under the planning reforms. These assessments will consider
opportunities for the private sector to design, deliver and operate regional
and local infrastructure solutions for new greenfield developments or urban
renewal precincts. [4.0] Growth Infrastructure Plans will contain
contestability assessments for infrastructure, and in some instances local
governments will also conduct these assessments.
Much of the detail regarding contestability assessments has not yet been
made public. However the White Paper comments that Infrastructure NSW will lead
the assessments, and that they are expected to lead to greater efficiency and
better value for money in the procurement and operation of infrastructure.
[4.0]
Public Priority Infrastructure
The White Paper identifies two streams of major infrastructure development.
Projects identified as Public Priority Infrastructure will be those considered
essential to the State’s economic, environmental or social well-being.
Public Priority Infrastructure will not require approval after it has been
declared as such by the Minister, and will have a streamlined assessment
process; assessment will focus on identifying, avoiding and minimising impacts
arising from the project. [5.0]
The second stream is called State Infrastructure Development. This is little
changed from the current State Significant Infrastructure and, for that reason,
is not considered in detail in this paper.
Infrastructure contributions
Under both the current and proposed planning system, developers can be asked
to make monetary contributions or provide works-in-kind for infrastructure to
meet a need generated by new development.
The White Paper proposes reforms to the way that contributions towards
infrastructure to service new development will be collected and spent. This
will include the collection of contributions for regional infrastructure at a
regional level, and modifications to the way that local infrastructure is
costed.
Contributions towards regional infrastructure are to be collected under the
provisions of a Growth Infrastructure Plan, while local infrastructure
contributions will come under Local Infrastructure Plans (which will be part of
local plans). [6.0]
