Final Report and Evaluation,  26  June 2023

The South Australian Government has significantly reformed the state-wide planning system over recent years following 2013’s expert panel review.

The project has provided support to councils during the implementation of the new planning system, including advocacy, legal advice and a range of resources published on the LGA website.

This project sought to achieve:

1. A consistent understanding amongst councils of the operation of the new system and their responsibilities within it.
2. Increased capacity of councils to implement the system.
3. Where possible, influence upon the system in the interest of best practice outcomes for councils and their communities.

Project Delivery

This project was delivered through:

• Communication with the sector
  • Communication Fortnightly or monthly meetings are being held with council staff and regular reports are provided to both GAROC and SAROC, Updates are also provided through CEO newsletter, Presidents newsletter of LGA News when required.
• Council workshops
  • As a result of COVID protocols workshops have been held on line or feedback sough via survey, this has included the Cost Impact of the Planning System Report which was provided to the State Government and Minister in December 2021.
• Delegations, policy and procedure updates
  • Delegations have been updated when required and placed on the LGA website, councils have been informed of changes.
• Training program
  • The successful partnership with Norman Waterhouse has continued and a number of training sessions have been run either face to face or via zoom attracting around 30 participants at each event.

Project Evaluation

The attached project evaluation noted the following successes of this project:

• Meeting councils’ need for clear and consistent advice, and providing forums in which councils could raise questions and issues of concern, share information, and be heard.
• Saving councils money by procuring legal services on behalf of all councils to support clarity of interpretation, and provide practical tools for implementation of the new system.
• Fostering collaboration and amongst councils in navigating this challenging process by bringing councils together regularly to share information and experiences in a genuinely participatory forum.
• Making councils’ voices heard by effectively advocating on their behalf to the State Government.
• Providing a high quality of materials and resources in the form of information documents, templates, and procedural tools which made a difference to councils’ ability to navigate the new system.

This project was approved by the LGA Board of Directors on 21 May 2021