What is better than getting your development approval in 1 month? Getting your DA in 2 weeks (10 business days).
Brisbane City Council has offered their RiskSMART fast-track program for a number of years with Urban Planners Queensland being listed as an accredited consultancy. Many years ago your application would have received a large discount on Council fees and approval issued in 5 business days, however this became untenable. As of 2021, Brisbane City Council re-vamped their RiskSMART offering after consultations with industry professionals and internal reviews.
Three key changes made to RiskSMART in 2021 included:
- no longer is there a need for accreditation
- you must use Council’s report template for lodgement
- there is no discount on Council fees
For your development application to qualify for the fast-track, post-2021 assessment process it must:
- be low risk
- comply with the eligible development type criteria
- be decision-ready
- be City Plan 2014 compliant
- be well-made
In other words:
- Your development must be a specific type of development that Council can assess without risk of a neighbour complaint
- Your development application package must be 100% complete and correct in accordance with State and Local planning requirements
- Your design and project needs to clearly comply with the acceptable outcomes of the relevant City Plan 2014 codes
- The development must not cause any waves by being compliant and well documented
As with anything there are pros and cons to RiskSMART. Whilst there is definitely appeal in a quick development approval, the fast-track process is not the best option for a number of projects. Primarily, the ability to negotiate and request Performance Outcomes over Acceptable Outcomes may result in a better product or yield.
This post was written on 18 January 2022 by Urban Planners Queensland’s managing director Jessica Reynolds.
