The council league table is an interactive dashboard monitoring performance for lodgement and determination of development applications in the Statement of Expectations Order 2024. Data can be viewed by council, geographic region, development type and over different time periods. 

State agency performance for concurrence, integrated development and referral timeframes is also monitored. We are also tracking how long councils take to refer assessment reports to Sydney district and regional planning panels.

More information on the data and metrics included in the council league table can be found in the 'Definitions' tab of the dashboards. 

nswg_pictogram_fill_reporting_blue01.svg

Council league table

The council league table monitors performance for lodgement and determination of development applications.

Visit the council league table

nswg_pictogram_fill_bar-chart_blue01.svg

Regionally significant development

The regionally significant development dashboard tracks how long councils take to refer assessment reports to Sydney and regional planning panels.

Go to the dashboard

Council performance data snapshot

July

Starting from 1 July 2024, council performance is captured on the sixth business day of every month.

For the complete July 2026 data go to:

The following July snapshot is as of 10 August 2026.

For previous financial year data, go to:

Council Average lodgement days Average assessment days Details
Albury 5 62
Armidale 3 77
Ballina 4 58
Balranald
Bathurst 4 47
Bayside 3 85
Bega Valley 6 76
Bellingen 7 70
Berrigan 4 58
Blacktown 6 127
Bland 10 67
Blayney 8 45
Blue Mountains 16 84
Bogan 11 455
Bourke 61
Brewarrina 38
Broken Hill 7 92
Burwood 21 52
Byron 14 93
Cabonne 5 37
Camden 3 42
Campbelltown 4 49
Canada Bay 7 77
Canterbury-Bankstown 5 79
Carrathool 59 27
Central Coast 7 127
Central Darling 37
Cessnock 6 46
Clarence Valley 6 54
Cobar 17 120
Coffs Harbour 11 45
Coolamon 11 40
Coonamble 9 60
Cootamundra-Gundagai 13 43
Cowra 21 36
Cumberland 6 91
Dubbo 11 50
Dungog 2 103
Edward River 14 30
Eurobodalla 12 52
Fairfield 8 68
Federation 7 68
Forbes 25 27
Georges River 5 51
Gilgandra 13 124
Glen Innes Severn 12 66
Goulburn Mulwaree 3 84
Greater Hume 16 81
Griffith 9 52
Gunnedah 7 68
Gwydir 25 34
Hawkesbury 7 86
Hay 9 23
Hilltops 3 65
Hornsby 7 91
Hunters Hill 10 144
Inner West 3 100
Inverell 28 117
Junee 3 91
Kempsey 6 109
Kiama 13 83
Ku-ring-gai 3 80
Kyogle 19 62
Lachlan 40 46
Lake Macquarie 10 95
Lane Cove 21 100
Leeton 2 33
Lismore 12 24
Lithgow 6 120
Liverpool 17 127
Liverpool Plains 10 15
Lockhart 30 32
Maitland 8 77
Mid-Coast 13 63
Mid-Western 7 108
Moree Plains 6 148
Mosman 6 61
Murray River 16 81
Murrumbidgee 29 32
Muswellbrook 21 70
Nambucca Valley 8 43
Narrabri 5 35
Narrandera 7
Narromine 6 26
Newcastle 6 65
North Sydney 4 77
Northern Beaches 4 81
Oberon 6 79
Orange 8 65
Parkes 14 73
Parramatta 13 82
Penrith 4 85
Port Macquarie-Hastings 13 66
Port Stephens 6 60
Queanbeyan-Palerang 4 58
Randwick 3 63
Richmond Valley 13 38
Ryde 8 87
Shellharbour 5 42
Shoalhaven 6 96
Singleton 8 71
Snowy Monaro 10 97
Snowy Valleys 6 22
Strathfield 19 58
Sutherland 16 79
Sydney 5 47
Tamworth 7 147
Temora 10 5
Tenterfield 50 103
The Hills 7 96
Tweed 7 103
Upper Hunter 11 59
Upper Lachlan 9 61
Uralla 4 43
Wagga Wagga 5 37
Walcha 35 29
Walgett 0 96
Warren 15 1
Warrumbungle 1 96
Waverley 8 72
Weddin 22
Wentworth 9 39
Willoughby 17 55
Wingecarribee 6 55
Wollondilly 5 64
Wollongong 3 88
Woollahra 7 91
Yass Valley 7 90

Frequently asked questions

Which council performance measures are being monitored in the council league table?

This dashboard monitors council performance against two development assessment timeframe expectations set in the Statement of Expectations Order 2024:

Submission to lodgement

Council should lodge DAs for which it is the consent authority as soon as practical and within an average of:

  • 14 days of submission between 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025
  • 7 days of submission from 1 July 2025 onwards.

Determination

Council should determine DAs for which it is the consent authority (including DAs determined by a local planning panel) as soon as practical and whichever is the lesser of council's previous financial year average, or within an average of:

  • 115 days of lodgement between 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025
  • 105 days of lodgement between 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026
  • 95 days of lodgement between 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027
  • 85 days of lodgement from 1 July 2027 onwards.
What council data is available on the council league table?

The council league table produces data on the:

  • number of applications lodged and determined
  • timeframes for lodgement and assessment of DAs.

Data can be viewed by timeframe, council, geographic location, development type including residential development and cost of development.

What council performance is being monitored in the regionally significant development dashboard?

Council should prepare assessment reports for a regionally significant development application and refer to the relevant Sydney district or regional planning panel as soon as practical and within an average of 250 days from lodgement.

What does the regionally significant development data show and how frequently is the data renewed?

The data shows how long it takes for a council to refer their regionally significant development assessment report to a panel for determination. The dashboard will be updated monthly.

The monthly data snapshots capture a specific point in time and may not adequately reflect longer-term patterns of council referral times. Monitoring over a longer period of time and analysis will be essential for identifying performance trends.

What state agency data is being monitored?

Data is being monitored on state agency performance for concurrence, integrated development and referral timeframes. State agencies play an important role in progressing development assessment and can contribute to timeframe performance.

Other data on state performance for assessing state significant development (SSD) applications for in-fill affordable housing and in the transport oriented development accelerated precincts will be published in late 2024 and 2025.

Where is the data from?

Data is extracted from the NSW Planning Portal.

How will council regionally significant development timeframes be monitored?

This dashboard tracks the average time councils take to refer assessment reports to Sydney district and regional planning panels for determination. The department will record council’s performance on the sixth business day of each month and publish this data.

How should the council league table be interpreted?

The council league table provides current and historical data to show how councils are performing over time. It also shows how many applications councils are processing, to provide additional context to timeframe performance, including for residential development.

Data is in different formats (tables, graphs and maps) to make it easily accessible and more interactive.

More information in the data and metrics included the council league table can be found in the Definitions tab of the dashboard.

What does it mean if a council is in the 10 fastest or 10 slowest councils?

There are a range of reasons why timeframe performance may vary between councils. These can include the volume, type and complexity of development applications, the proportion of those development applications requiring concurrence integrated development and referral timeframes, and a council’s resourcing capacity for planning assessment.

The department will look more closely at councils that are not meeting the expectations. Additional data and advice from the department's regional teams will form the basis of a second stage of analysis to determine whether the use of any intervention measures is warranted. For more information go to Statement of Expectations Order.

Will more data be released?

Other data on state performance for assessing state significant development (SSD) applications for in-fill affordable housing and in the transport oriented development accelerated precincts will be published in late 2024 and 2025.

Why are the development assessment expectations based on gross average days?

The department recognises that development applications vary greatly in type, scale, planning merit and quality of documentation provided across the state. Setting an average expectation for lodging and assessing DAs takes these variations into account and ensures performance is monitored for all DAs.

The average development assessment days are measured in gross, and do not take into account any 'stop the clock' days when councils are waiting for additional information from applicants. This is because end-to-end timeframes are a more meaningful metric of how long development assessment is taking. As the same expectation applies for all councils across the state, this will not unfairly disadvantage any particular councils.

Has the council league table replaced the planning performance dashboard?

The council league table replaces data on the Planning Performance Dashboard for local development applications. The Planning Performance Dashboard is being revised and will be available again soon on the NSW Planning website.