Organisations, people and policies: barriers to good negotiation in the NSW planning system

Negotiation is a core activity of land-use planners in Australia. Good negotiation practice can add value, build relationships and achieve common gains. However, good negotiation practice depends on establishing processes and maintaining conditions that facilitate complementary strategies, behaviours and styles. The current study deployed a qualitative approach to determine how aware planners were of good negotiation techniques and to identify barriers to good negotiation in the NSW planning system. Generally, the respondents (n = 289) in this study valued negotiation and demonstrated a high level of understanding of good negotiation practices. However, their responses identified legislative and policy issues, organisational issues and interpersonal issues that may act as barriers to good negotiation.