Some NSW councils say they are being held back by an online planning system meant to smooth their processes. 

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) has been running an online planning system that is supposed to process development applications more efficiently.

However, some councils say they have had to employ more staff to navigate the Planning Portal. Other complaints include having to lodge the same information repeatedly for a planning application, requiring multiple passwords, and failing to duplicate application details for local council systems.

Councils say they are finding it hard to meet statutory timeframes due to the sluggish system.

Delegates from the Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation (RAMJO), which represents 11 councils, have lined up a meeting with NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts to push for improvements.

“The reality is that it has become an extra level of administration to navigate through for both developers and council and it is leading to significantly increased workloads and timelines for everyone involved,” Berrigan Shire Council Mayor and RAMJO chairperson Matt Hannan has told the ABC.

He says the issues have emerged at a time when local governments are seeing huge demand on their local planning departments.

“Development applications in the Berrigan Shire, for instance, have almost doubled, but the complexity of applications for industrial investment has also increased,” Cr Hannan said.

“This system is not only making it almost impossible to support business, it is totally failing our staff.”

The DPE has defended its system. 

“The Planning Portal is modernising and improving the process for progressing development applications and complying development certificates, and providing greater transparency,” a spokesperson said.

“Since its introduction, we have made improvements based on feedback from users.

“More than 85 per cent of 180,000 people have given the service an on-the-spot 'thumbs up', while it has cut assessment times on average by 38 days.”

The spokesperson said the government put up $4.8 million in funding for regional councils “to assist them with funding technical adjustments to transition away from the old slow and complicated paper-based system”.

“A further $80,000 is being made available to each council to continue to help with their integration and automation”" the spokesperson said.

“We have also invested $1 million to establish a squad of planning consultants to help regional councils clear development applications for new homes faster.”