We want to encourage medium and high growth councils to speed up development assessment times to help deliver more homes across NSW.
Councils approve nearly 85% of development applications for homes in NSW and are crucial to increasing housing supply.
Over the next 3 years, the Faster Assessments Incentive Program will award up to $200 million in financial incentives to top performing eligible councils for achieving reduced, and consistently low, development assessment timeframes.
Eligibility for the program is linked to housing targets and is available to medium and high growth councils.
Round one
Round one of the Faster Assessments Incentive Program rewards eligible councils for their performance during the 2024–25 financial year. This round is available to the 53 metropolitan and regional NSW councils with housing targets above 1,000 dwellings. Implied dwelling demand for the Housing Accord period is used for councils in Regional NSW that have not been provided an LGA-specific housing target.
These eligible councils will deliver the bulk of the 377,000 new homes to be built in NSW by 2029 under the National Housing Accord.
In round one, eligible councils compete for their share of up to $67 million of grant funding to deliver local infrastructure such as roads, open spaces, and community facilities.
Round one timeline
Activities and indicative timeframes:
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Successful councils announced
September to October 2025
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Infrastructure grant nominations open for 6 weeks
November to December 2025
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Round one infrastructure grant projects announced
April 2026
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All infrastructure projects to be completed
30 June 2029
Program eligibility
All eligible councils will automatically be considered in this round. There is no need to formally apply to the program.
Bayside Council, Blacktown City Council, Burwood Council, Camden Council, Campbelltown City Council, Central Coast Council, City of Canada Bay, City of Canterbury Bankstown, City of Hawkesbury, City of Liverpool, City of Newcastle, City of Parramatta, City of Penrith, City of Ryde, City of Sydney, City of Willoughby, City of Wollongong, Cumberland City Council, Fairfield City Council, Georges River Council, Hornsby Shire Council, Inner West Council, Ku-ring-gai Council, Lane Cove Council, North Sydney Council, Northern Beaches Council, Randwick City Council, Strathfield Municipal Council, Sutherland Shire Council, The Hills Shire Council, Waverley Council, Wollondilly Shire Council, Woollahra Municipal Council.
Albury City Council, Ballina Shire Council, Bathurst Regional Council, Cessnock City Council, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Maitland, City of Orange, City of Shellharbour, City of Shoalhaven, City of Wagga Wagga, Coffs Harbour City Council, Dubbo Regional Council, Eurobodalla Shire Council, Mid-Coast Council, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Port Stephens Council, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, Tamworth Regional Council, Tweed Shire Council, Wingecarribee Shire Council.
Successful councils
Eligible councils are ranked according to the assessment criteria outlined in the grant guidelines. The criteria are designed to reward councils that have made significant progress to meet and exceed their average assessment expectations, and to ensure consistent high performance is recognised.
Successful councils will be contacted by the Department following completion of the assessment process and asked to nominate an eligible infrastructure project.
Frequently asked questions
The Faster Assessment Incentive Program is available to medium and high growth councils across NSW. These councils are responsible for the bulk of housing growth in NSW, with eligible metropolitan councils representing 76% of the 377,000 homes to be delivered in NSW under the Housing Accord. Eligible regional councils represent 77% of the total expected dwellings to be delivered in regional NSW.
No, all eligible councils will automatically be considered and do not need to apply. Successful councils will be notified and asked to nominate an infrastructure project for funding in line with the program’s requirements.
For round one, eligible councils will be scored and ranked based on their average assessment timeframes in 2024–25 and their improvement against their average over the previous 3 years. Councils that do not meet their Statement of Expectation target will only be considered if they have made significant improvements to their average assessment timeframes in 2024–25, compared to the previous 3 years, and if their 2024–25 average is within 10% of their expectation for the year. Eligibility does not guarantee funding. Only top performing councils will receive funding as per the program guidelines.
Program eligibility and assessment criteria for round two (2026–27) and three (2027–28) will be adjusted in line with the increasing performance requirements for average DA assessment timeframes under the Statement of Expectations Order. Councils should continue to meet the Statement of Expectations Order targets. Eligible councils are encouraged to keep improving on their performance above and beyond their individual targets to ensure they are competitive for funding under the program. Program guidelines for round 2 of the program will be published by June 2026. Program guidelines for round 3 will be published by June 2027.
The program scoring and ranking is based on NSW Planning Portal data published and updated monthly on the Council League Table. This ensures transparency and consistency with the Statement of Expectations. Councils should ensure their data is updated and accurate by 30 June 2025. Find out more about council league tables on our website. The Department will undertake a review of the snapshot data to ensure there are no data anomalies or inconsistencies prior to the preparation of the scoring, inclusive of a trend analysis of historic versus current data for eligible councils, and the associated reasons for these trends.
The program is designed to be competitive to encourage efficiency in development assessment timeframes. Eligible councils will be ranked according to the program criteria to ensure top-performing councils receive funding. Depending on their ranking, councils may meet their target but not be funded under the program.
Eligible councils are encouraged to keep improving their performance above and beyond their targets to ensure they are competitive for funding in rounds two and three of the program.
Successful councils will be asked to nominate a maximum of one project. The nominated project will receive funding if it meets the assurance criteria outlined in the program guide.
Successful councils can make a co-contribution or fund projects from other sources if they wish. There is no limit to the total value of the nominated infrastructure project, as long as funding requested from the Faster Assessments Incentive program is within the program funding caps per council outlined in the program guidelines.