Fewer than one in four councils in Sydney are successfully meeting the New South Wales (NSW) government’s average target time for approving higher-density residential housing.

This shortfall occurs despite the government depending on local councils to alleviate the ongoing housing crisis in the region.

Analysis from the Property Council of Australia indicates that only half of all applications for medium-density housing, residential flat-top housing, and developments above shops were approved within the target timeframe of 115 days during the nine months leading to March 2025.

The NSW government, under the leadership of the Minns administration, has implemented a low- and mid-rise housing policy aimed at increasing the supply of terraces, townhouses, and small apartment blocks.

This policy is intended to contribute significantly to the construction of nearly a third of the government’s promised 377,000 new homes by 2029.

Property Council NSW executive director Katie Stevenson highlighted the critical role of infill development in tackling the housing crisis yet pointed out that barely half of development applications (DAs) for these projects in Greater Sydney are processed in a timely manner.

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, while approvals for apartments across NSW saw a substantial increase of 41.6 percent over the past year, the delays in applications—some extending for a year or more—mean that many potential projects are failing to materialize.

Last month, Planning Minister Paul Scully sent letters to four of the 26 councils in Greater Sydney whose processing times exceeded the 115-day target for all types of residential development.

Among these councils were North Sydney, Willoughby, Sutherland Shire, and Georges River.

Minister Scully expressed his expectations for improved assessment times by July 2024, indicating that letters were sent to prompt councils to expedite their processes.

The establishment of the Housing Delivery Authority in January is reported to have removed an accumulated 64 development proposals from council lists, as these are classified as “state significant developments,” which are defined as containing over 100 dwellings in metropolitan Sydney or 40 dwellings in regional NSW.

Georges River Council is noted for taking an average of 278 days to process development applications for medium-density and residential flat-top dwellings, with only a single application meeting the targeted timeframe.

In contrast, Willoughby Council has not achieved the 115-day target for any application in the past year.

Willoughby Council representatives stated that they had invested significantly to improve processing times, including hiring additional staff with a budget of $1.2 million specifically for this purpose.

Certain councils, such as Strathfield, have experienced longer wait times for higher-density applications driven by individual outlier submissions, while Hornsby Shire Council cited a specific development application that failed to comply with height restrictions, resulting in a processing delay of 237 days.

The state government has also been monitoring advancements among councils with the most improved average assessment times across various dwelling types, noting Liverpool, Hunters Hill, and Campbelltown councils as having reduced their processing times by 100 days or more since 2023.