Wagga Wagga City Council will use AI to speed up the approval process for development applications. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Wagga Wagga City Council (WWCC) will soon be introducing artificial intelligence (AI) assistance to the processing of development applications.
WWCC has received a $170,000 grant from the New South Wales Government as part of the Early Adopter Program and hopes to implement a new AI program to speed up application approvals.
WWCC was one of 16 NSW local governments selected for the program after submitting an expression of interest in February.
“The Early Adopters Program is part of the AI in NSW Plan project and has been established to support and enable councils and the market to refine and scale new technologies aimed at improving the pre-submission stage of the DA process,” WWCC Chief Operating Officer Scott Gray said.
“The objective of this grant is to gradually improve the efficiency of assessment work and the overall DA process by strengthening the pre-application stage, making it easier for local governments to adopt AI technologies in their digital environments.
“By improving the DA process for all users, including homeowners, councils and developers, we can provide confidence to the building industry and contribute to achieving the annual housing targets.”
Mr Gray said the council would aim to streamline the DA process by giving applicants access to a troubleshooter application form before they submit, ensuring better quality applications are submitted from the start.
“This will be achieved by implementing a user-friendly interface with 3D generative design capabilities, which will make planning administration digitalised, simplified and easier to interpret for both council staff and the public,” he said.
“There will also be additional chatbot functionality to help applicants review specific property details and constraints and determine the appropriate route forward.”
“The Council's project objectives are to reduce the average processing time for DAs, improve the submission success rate of DA submissions and increase the efficiency of pre-submission related activities.”
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully has highlighted the importance of AI in tackling the NSW housing crisis, believing that by reducing the time it takes to approve applications, it will allow more time to be spent building homes.
“Introducing AI into the planning system will reduce the administrative workload of planners and allow them to focus on their core job – planning,” he said.
“It also helps applicants by reducing delays with the assurance that all necessary information has been provided without repeated requests. This saves applicants time and enables us to build more homes faster.”
“After a decade of chaotic planning reforms and a tough macroeconomic environment, there is no denying that approvals are slowing.
“As a Government we are looking at all ways to accelerate the planning system and build homes for young people, families and workers.”
WWCC plans to begin implementing the new technology in August.
