The current state of non-statutory planning policy in New South Wales

In NSW, Development Control Plans (DCPs) are the respositories of non-statutory planning policies that planners deploy to direct site-based outcomes. DCPs are much maligned as contributing to the complexity, uncertainty and confusion of the planning system. But in an increasingly standardised, generic and centralised planning framework, DCPs are unique in that they remain opportunities for experimentation and innovation and professional expression. This study interviewed representatives of 12 NSW Councils on the currency of their DCPs, the process of drafting and maintaining DCPs, the sources of knowledge and the derivation of the rules, the actors involved, and opportunities for and barriers to collaborative practices in the development of rules. The study found that DCPs are generally out-of-date because of limited resources and other planning priorities. New DCP policy is primarily achieved by recycling existing policies from other Councils but without an understanding of the effectiveness or appropriateness of that policy. Innovation, learning and accountability are rare. DCPs and the planning system generally are richly populated with substantive objectives. The study revealed that no measurement or accountability of the rules against these objectives occurs. There is no understanding of whether or not the rules actually achieve what they are intended to. The planning system is not a benign entity. It imposes significant requirements on the housing and development industries and the community; it supports an expansive profession and requires a sophisticated bureaucracy to administer it. Planning must be accountable, and the existing planning framework offers many opportunities for this to occur.