Harmonising development applications : evaluating an eGovernment initiative in South East Queensland

Development application (DA) assessment processes have traditionally been paper based, and assessed according to planning systems unique to each Local Government. Fragmented and inconsistent DA assessments resulted. Consequently, local government approvals of DA have been criticised as being slow, difficult to negotiate, and to lack transparency. Recently, the RRIF program sought to improve DA processes across 21 local governments in South East Queensland. RRIF aimed to reduce red tape and improve the transparency of DA assessment. While RRIF achieved valuable improvements in DA assessment, particularly increased consistency, transparency and streamlining; additional opportunities for harmonisation remain.