Councils in Western Australia have voiced their concerns about new planning laws they claim will make them “almost irrelevant”.

WA Premier Mark McGowan outlined ideas for planning changes at his Vision for the State lunch hosted by the WA Property Council.

He said the state wants to make the controversial special development assessment unit (SDAU) a permanent fixture, and reduce the threshold for developers to have their projects considered by a development assessment panel (DAP).

The changes would also see the number of DAPs across the state cut from five to three.

The reforms will give the centralised administrative bodies greater power to consider the approval of property development, reducing the role of local councils in deciding the look of suburbs and towns. 

Mr McGowan says the changes will help deliver more housing at affordable prices by circumventing “anti-development” councils. 

The new regulations allow proposals over $2 million, including those with more than two homes, to be considered by the centralised panels. 

However, local councillors and the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) have criticised the move, saying it removes local decision-making. 

“It dilutes the ability of local government - which best understand their community’s needs - to be involved in the planning process,” says WALGA president Karen Chappel.

“It is the role of local government to represent the views of its members. It's called local government for a reason.

“What has been suggested, that is going to be happening going forward, [is decisions will be made] without local government having a say in what is going to happen in their communities.

“It's just not fair to communities,” she said.

WALGA is concerned by the proposal to allow all multiple dwelling developments to be assessed by a development assessment panel (DAP). Currently, only larger (10-plus) multiple-dwelling developments are determined by a DAP. A DAP has previously had just two local council representatives among its five members.

“Small-scale residential proposals are most effectively dealt with at the local level,” Cr Chappel says.

WALGA also opposes plans to make the State Development Assessment Unit (SDAU) permanent. 

The SDAU was introduced only to consider projects worth over $20 million, and has since been used to approve more than $2.66 billion in investment, with another $2.6 billion worth of projects being considered.

The SDAU can circumvent town planning schemes if it deems a project worthy enough.

Cr Chappel says WALGA never supported the SDAU and will push for any permanent unit to be bound by local planning schemes.

“The [SDAU] has not proved to be an effective and efficient body to date, with only 16 proposals approved to date,” she said. 

Others argue that the biggest problem with DAPs and the SDAU is that there has been zero oversight of them.

The WA government has defended the reforms, saying they would reduce red tape and costs associated with new developments. 

“I think we’re all tired of quality multi-dwelling proposals becoming a vehicle for grandstanding by anti-development councils and individuals facing re-election at local councils,” WA Premier Mark McGowan said over the weekend. 

The proposed changes have been described as “an escalation of the fight against NIMBYism”. 

Property Council WA executive director Sandra Brewer says the group supports the reforms, arguing that local councils will remain "deeply involved" in planning through local planning strategies.