DA details at your fingertips
Keeping track of your Development Applications has been made easier with the recent system upgrades we’ve implemented over the past few months. Council has been working hard behind the scenes to improve our online DA Tracker tool to put details of how your DA is progressing, at your finger tips.
This is where you’ll start to see the value in the extensive technological upgrades Council has been investing in. We completed the initial enhancement of our DA Tracker on the 31 March 2023. This involved the implementation of the integration between the NSW Planning Portal and Council’s TechnologyOne Property and Rating (P&R) system for Development Applications (DAs).
With this integration now being implemented, we can exceed the minimum requirements of the NSW Department of Environment and Planning (DPE). The upgrades will save time because less application data entry is required. The service on the whole is made more efficient and cost-effective, enabling team members to focus on value-adding tasks, while improving on the accuracy and reliability of the information.
“What this means is a significantly improved customer experience when it comes to the DA process overall,” says Adan Davis, Wingecarribee Shire Councils Director Communities and Place. “We are continually moving toward greater efficiencies and improved customer experience as we work to clear the backlog of applications that had been accumulated.”
Last week saw further enhancements to the system for all applications over the past two years. On 22 May 2023 Council’s DA Tracker was enhanced this time, to allow applicants to now view more detailed information about their DA application, online, without leaving home or picking up the phone. “Things like the list of recommended events for Council’s team, such as the initial lodgement of the DA, payment of DA charges, notification requirements and referrals both internal and external.” Explains George Harb Wingecarribee Shire Councils Chief Information Officer.
It makes for a more fully-integrated and easily-accessible DA tracking for the customer and the community.
Finally, the list will detail the events, or stages, related to the status of the application, showing whether it is on public notification, ready for Council planner assessment, waiting on external agency advice or waiting on additional information to be provided by the applicant. When an application has been finalised, the decision (or determination) will be shown to fall into one of four categories: approved, refused, deferred commencement (subject to further work to satisfy Council) or withdrawn (by the applicant).
“Council understands that the processing of DA’s is a priority for our community and we have been working very hard to implement better systems, processes and technologies that will help streamline that process for people, and offer them greater peace of mind that their application is progressing, by giving them more direct access to the details,” says George.
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