Australian Local Government Association

The overall purpose of planning is to ensure land use and development meets present and future needs of the community, reflects minimum community standards of health, safety and amenity, protects the environment, provides a process for resolving competing interests and ensures there is a reasonable level of choice. Without this framework, development would be unregulated and minimum community standards of health, safety and amenity would not be achieved consistently.

Although the statutory frameworks that govern planning and development are established by state and territory government, ALGA advocates for local governments' role in planning and development through relevant national bodies and inquiries. In particular ALGA represents local government on the Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council (LGPMC), the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) and the Development Assessment Forum (DAF). ALGA is an observer member of the Housing Ministers' Conference.

Building code and regulation

By the authority of state legislation, local governments in all jurisdictions are required to prepare a range of statutory planning documents that are legally binding. At the local level, these include planning schemes, by-laws, codes and regulations within which the operational rules and criteria for development are set out. There is considerable variation in the format and content of these instruments within and between jurisdictions and the level of authority and autonomy given to local government to regulate.

Development assessment

Community control of development assessment is a fundamental tenet of local democracy. The objective of development assessment (DA) processing and policy is to ensure high quality development which reflects the wishes of the community. The role of elected councillors in this process is to represent the community in the setting of development standards and the overseeing of the application of those standards.

Planning education and employment

Around fifty percent of planners work in local government at a time when local councils are significantly under-resourced; bearing the effects of cost-shifting from other spheres of government; suffering from a chronic shortage of planners; and subject to changing and complex legislation.

Housing

The range of choices available to local government to influence local housing outcomes means that it is not possible to make generalised and universal statements about the role of local government in housing.

Ministerial Councils

ALGA is a member of the Local Government and Planning Ministers'Council which meets once a year. The associated Local Government and Planning Joint Committee (LGPJC) is made up of officials from departments of local government and planning from all levels of government and meets twice a year to make recommendations to the Ministerial Council. ALGA is an observer member of the Housing Ministers' Conference.

See also: Local Government and Planning Ministers Council communiqués

Australia's Future Cities (PDF 900 kb)

Labor’s discussion paper on urban development, housing and local government.
Senator Kim Carr
Shadow Minister for Housing; Urban Development; Local Government and Territories

This paper is about our everyday lives. Housing is square one. If you don’t have somewhere decent to live, you can’t find a job, participate in training and education, or maintain your family’s health and security. But home ownership has become less affordable, low cost private rental is increasingly concentrated in outer suburbs and public housing is able to take fewer and fewer new tenants every year. The result is that housing costs are causing financial stress for many Australians.

For information regarding local government and planning and housing, please contact: