Protect your rights & your voice/Say no to DAPs

In November 2024, the Legislative Council thankfully voted down the Development Assessment Panel (DAP) Bill. See how your members of Tasmania’s Parliament voted here. 

On 26 February 2025, the Planning Minister re-released the contentious and anti-democratic draft Development Assessment Panel (DAP) Bill for public consultation closing 24 April 2025.

The 2025 revised DAPs legislation is not significantly changed from the 2024 version and retains all the key flaws. Thus, we are calling on all communities and Councils across Tasmania to maintain their full opposition to the 2025 DAPs Bill.

The draft legislation empowers the Planning Minister to remove assessment and approval of developments from the normal local council process and have it done by Development Assessment Panels (DAPs). This fast-track process will remove elected councillors from having a say on the most controversial and destructive developments affecting local communities. There will be no right for the community to appeal the final decision to the planning tribunal. The criteria being considered would enable virtually any development, except for industrial and mining developments regulated by the EPA, to be taken out of the normal local council assessment process and instead be assessed by DAPs, including developments already refused such as the kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car, high-rise buildings in Hobart and new developments such as large-scale subdivisions like Skylands development at Droughty Point and the UTAS proposed re-development. 

The Planning Minister would also have new powers to instruct councils to commence planning scheme changes, but perversely, only when a local council has rejected such an application. 

The 2025 DAPs legislation will provide a new fast tracked DAP process to provide a permit for developments on both private and public land including World Heritage Areas, National Parks and Reserves. The government also intends to introduce two other pieces of new legislation. 1) to provide fast tracked approvals under the National Parks and Reserves Management Act for developments in reserved land, and 2) Another Bill that will removing/limiting appeal rights. Thus, we are expecting three Bills – all of which will either remove or weaken planning appeal rights. Only the DAP Bill has currently been released for public comment.

Transparency, independence and public participation in decision-making are critical for a healthy democracy.