The City of Canada Bay has raised serious concerns over sweeping new NSW Government planning rules that will remove the requirement for neighbours to be notified or given the opportunity to provide feedback on a range of Development Applications.
The NSW Government’s new Statewide Community Participation Plan will take effect from Tuesday 1 September, replacing the individual community participation plans of councils across NSW.
City of Canada Bay Mayor Michael Megna said the changes represented a fundamental shift in how much say residents have over development in their own neighbourhoods.
“This is another significant step away from local communities having a meaningful say in how their own neighbourhoods change,” Mayor Megna said.
“People are increasingly being asked to accept decisions about the future of their streets and suburbs without the chance to have their voice heard.”
“This change goes directly to something very basic – if a significant development is proposed next door to you, you should know about it and you should have an opportunity to have your say.”
Under the new rules, a range of Development Applications (DA) will no longer require public exhibition, including demolition, dual occupancies of up to two storeys, attached dwellings and multi-dwelling housing of up to five dwellings, dwelling houses of up to two storeys, secondary dwellings, some alterations and additions and tree removal on private land.
“From today, your neighbour could lodge a DA to demolish their home and replace it with three terraces and, provided it falls within the State Government’s criteria, you will no longer have a right to be formally notified or given the opportunity to make a submission,” Mayor Megna said.
“That is a seismic change to the way our neighbourhoods are planned and developed.”
Mayor Megna said the City of Canada Bay understood the need for an efficient planning system but removing the community from the process was not the answer.
“Nobody wants unnecessary red tape and Council has worked extremely hard to successfully reduce our own DA assessment times, but notifying the person who lives next door to a proposed development is not red tape,” Mayor Megna said.
“It is a basic courtesy and, more importantly, an important part of good planning.”
“Neighbours often provide information that cannot be found on a set of architectural plans. They understand drainage issues, privacy impacts, traffic movements, trees, overlooking and the way a street actually functions.”
“You do not improve the planning system by silencing those voices.”
The final Statewide Community Participation Plan was provided to councils only days before its commencement on 1 September.
“For a change of this magnitude to commence with councils given only days to work through its practical implications is simply unacceptable,” Mayor Megna said.
“This deserved a major public conversation. Instead, an enormous change to the rights of residents to have a say about development immediately around them has arrived with barely a whisper.”
“If the State Government genuinely believes these are sensible changes, it should be prepared to explain them openly to the people whose neighbourhoods will be affected.”
Council officers are urgently reviewing the new requirements and what options remain available to Council to keep residents informed about development activity.
Council will continue to publish Development Applications and outcomes through its DA Tracker and will explore other ways of improving community awareness within the constraints of the new statewide rules.
The Statewide Community Participation Plan takes effect across NSW from 1 September 2026.
