NEWCASTLE and Lake Macquarie councils will trial artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as part of a state government plan to speed up development assessment times.
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The successful councils applied for grants to test technologies designed to improve the quality and accuracy of information included when a development application (DA) is lodged.
Councils assess about 85 per cent of all residential DA, a process which can be strained by administrative delays, double-ups, mistakes or site-specific requirements.
NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said they were all issues that could be identified and resolved before a DA arrived on a planner's desk.
"Introducing AI into the planning system is about reducing the administrative workload of planners so that they can get on with their main job of planning," he said.
"It also helps applicants as it reduces delays by making sure all the required information is provided without repeated requests. This will free up their time and help build more homes faster.
"Using technology to assist in the assessment of development applications is a critical way the government can support councils to speed up development assessment times to better address the housing crisis."
Sixteen councils - including several in the Hunter area - will trial technologies to speed up development assessment timeframes as part of the state government's $5.6 million investment into introduce AI into the planning system.
Each council grant recipient will be supported to trial their nominated new technology for a year.
Cessnock City Council, Lake Macquarie City Council, and City of Newcastle, with co-applicants Central Coast Council and Muswellbrook Shire Council, will be part of the program.
The grant funding forms part of the state government's wider AI in NSW Planning package.
