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TAKES COUNCILS & COMMUNITIES OUT OF PLANNING: The November 2025 Draft DAPs legislation will remove proposed developments from the normal planning process. The community and councils will be removed from having any meaningful say over development approvals.

REMOVES ELECTED COUNCILLORS FROM HAVING A SAY: This fast-track DAP process will remove elected councillors from having a say on the approval of the most controversial and destructive developments affecting local communities.

REMOVES PLANNING APPEAL RIGHTS: There will be no right for the community to appeal the final decision of a DAP to the planning tribunal.

DAP ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA BROAD AND UNDEFINED: The proposed DAP eligibility criteria are broad and undefined and almost any type of development, except for industrial and mining developments regulated by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), could be removed from the normal planning process and assessed and approved by a DAP.

DAPS MAKE IT EASIER TO APPROVE LARGE SCALE CONTENTIOUS DEVELOPMENTS ON PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LAND INCLUDING WORLD HERITAGE AREAS, NATIONAL PARKS AND RESERVES: Nothing in the revised DAPs legislation stops the biggest and most controversial developments that have previously been stopped from returning and being approved by a DAP e.g. kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car, Gondolas in Cataract Gorge and Hobart skyscrapers. New developments such as large-scale subdivisions like Skylands development at Droughty Point and the UTAS proposed re-development could also be fast-tracked.

SMALL SCALE DEVELOPMENTS COULD MEET DAP CRITERIA: There is no change to the fuzzy valuation system which would result in developments of very small scale still meeting the supposed dollar limits of $10 million in cities or $5 million in other areas and $1M for council projects.

MORE HOUSING CAN BE APPROVED USING THE NORMAL PLANNING SYSTEM: The Government will claim that the DAPs will help get more affordable and social housing built but this is just an attempt to distract from the Government’s poor record of getting housing completed. A project only has to include some affordable housing, which could mean 1 house in 100, to meet the eligibility criteria to be assessed by a DAP. More housing can be approved using the normal planning system and this is likely to create more liveable housing that is connected to existing communities.

WILL CREATE TWO PLANNING ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS: This system will appeal to the property industry who are willing to navigate the DAP panel process and have resources for this. Will create two planning assessment systems, one used by the property industry and one by the community.

POOR JUSTIFICATION – THERE IS NO PROBLEM TO FIX: Only about 1% of council planning decisions go to appeal and Tasmania’s planning system is already among the fastest in Australia when it comes to determining development applications.

What has changed in the DAPs legislation from the November 2024 bill (voted down the by the Parliament) and the current November 2025 version? Are these changes significant?

The DAPs legislation was voted down by the Parliament in November 2024. The State Government released an amended version of the DAPs legislation in February 2025 and another version in November 2025 (the latest version). Some of the changes made in February 2025 were retained in the latest version and some have been made redundant by later changes. The November 2025 bill also contains a few new amendments. None of these changes address the key flaws of the legislation as outlined above.

The key changes from the November 2024 Bill compared to November 2025 Bill are summarised below.

Removal of the minister’s role in declaring projects to be assessed by DAPs

The November 2025 bill has removed any role for the minister in declaring projects to be assessed by DAPs. The minister retains other powers e.g. extending the TPC’s hearing which is still concerning.

Given the removal of the Minister’s powers to declare projects to be assessed by DAPs, previous changes that sort to limit or guide the minister’s power to declare projects have been removed:

• amendments to provide for the TPC to develop guidelines to assist the minister in making decisions to declare a DAP;
• an option for the minister to transfer a development already being assessed by a council.

In regard to the second point, a proponent who is unsatisfied with how a council is assessing a development can achieve the same outcome (without involvement of the minister) by removing their project from the council assessment process and then making a submission to the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

The key flaws of the DAPs legislation are unchanged. Although the TPC and not the Minister decides whether a development is to be assessed by a DAP, the eligibility criteria remain too broad and undefined and the TPC has no discretion to refuse them.

Eligibility criteria largely unchanged

Some of the more concerning language used for eligibility criteria have been removed with the removal of the Minister’s powers to declare projects as DAPs e.g. (e) the relevant planning authority may have, in respect of the proponent or development – (i) a conflict of interest or a perceived conflict of interest; or (ii) a real or perceived bias, whether for or against the proponent or development.

However, almost any type of development, except for industrial and mining developments, could be eligible by virtue of the dollar value criteria or clause 60AC, which provides a type of ‘catch-all’ criteria (1)(d) the application falls within a class of applications prescribed for the purpose of this section.

Eligibility criteria: dollar values

The November 2024 bill included dollar values as eligibility criteria: $5 million or more for developments in cities and $2 million in any other place. These figures were increased in the February 2025 bill to $10 million for projects in cities and $5 million in other areas and these higher figures are retained in the current November 2025 DAPs Bill.

The government claimed that the higher dollar values would reduce the number and type of DAP applications but it is unlikely to have this effect. The eligibility criteria are options and there are other non-dollar criteria that could be met so that projects under the dollar values may be eligible e.g. the 60AC(1)(d) ‘catch-all’ criteria. Also, the dollar thresholds are fuzzy and it is hard to see how the dollar amount is to be accurately and transparently measured.

Dispute resolution measures

Section: 60AI(4) of the November 2025 Bill retains a February 2025 amendment to provide for a DAP to use dispute resolution measures such as mediation. The Tasmanian Planning Commission is inexperienced in mediation and no clear process or rights have been established for objectors, unlike the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The amendment allows the DAP to use dispute resolution measures such as mediation ‘as a part of a hearing’ but it does not make it clear that the DAP approval can be decided by mediation. The amended provision does not make it clear if it is only the parties to a DAP, i.e. the applicant and planning authority, that may participate in dispute resolution or whether the community and other referral entities may be included.