Land development process report and recommendations

A land development review was undertaken in 2022 to identify improvements to bring titled land to the market to keep pace with Territorian needs.

The outcomes of the review are presented in the Bringing Land to Market: An Independent review of the Land Development processes, Land Under Development and Titled Land.

The report identifies areas for improvement of existing processes for:

• the release of land
• the production of lots
• the authority approvals
• bonding and other initiatives to bring forward titles.

Read the report and recommendations PDF (28.3 MB).

The Department of Lands, Planning and Environment has led an inter-agency effort to implement the recommendations of the Bringing Land to Market Report.

Implementation of Recommendations

Of the 23 Recommendations of the Report, 15 recommendations have been implemented (this now includes Land Development Initiative 3 further down):

• Recommendation 1: Standardised Terminology in now within the Northern Territory Subdivision Guidelines.
• Recommendation 6: Future Residential Land Supply has been identified and infrastructure design and construction is underway for the next development in Holtze.
• Recommendation 7: The land for Affordable and Social Housing policy is in place for all future Crown land greenfield developments.
• Recommendation 8: Ensuring sufficient titled land is available during a sudden and unexpected spike in demand.
• Recommendation 10: An enhanced Development Assessment Forum is now available for developers to book in advance of submitting their development application to the Development Consent Authority.
• Recommendation 11: A delegated approval for Rezoning is in place where it is compliant with Strategic Land Use Plans ensures a more streamlined process.
• Recommendation 15: An enhanced process for energisation through Power and Water Corporation for the energisation of new subdivisions.
• Recommendation 17: Bonding of incomplete works guide is now within Northern Territory Subdivision Guidelines.
• Recommendation 18: Early lodgement of Survey Plans is available through digital lodgement.
• Recommendation 19: An enhanced Place Names process that includes a bank of approved place names for future developments under an Area Plan.
• Recommendation 21: Alice Springs, South of the Gap Subregional Land-Use Plan has been prioritised by the Northern Territory Planning Commission for commencement in 2024.
• Recommendation 22: Stamp Duty Exemption for House and Land Packages now available through the Department of Treasury and Finance.
• Recommendation 23: A governance structure has been created through the Land Development Committee to oversee progress of the recommendations.

The remaining recommendations have been categorised into four main Land Development Initiatives:

Land Development Initiative 1:

• Recommendation 3: Integrated Strategic Land Use and Infrastructure Planning Framework
• Recommendation 4: Land Development Strategy and Program
• Recommendation 5: Infrastructure Contribution Plans

Land Development Initiative 2:

• Recommendation 9: Mandate the Northern Territory Subdivision Development Guidelines
• Recommendation 13: Authority Acceptance of Assets
• Recommendation 14: Authority Approval of Assets

Land Development Initiative 3:

• Recommendation 8: Titled Land Reserve.
  The Department of Lands, Planning and Environment has since implemented Land Development Initiative 3 through a non-capital intensive option that provides the ability for developers under Crown land releases to respond to any increase in market demand in a timely manner by ensuring they have sufficient stages of development with various planning and authority approvals in place.

Land Development Initiative 4:

• Recommendations 2 and 20: Future Demand Profiling.

The Department of Lands, Planning and Environment is responsible for the remaining implementation of Land Development Initiative 1 and Land Development Initiative 2.

Contact

Email: land.development@nt.gov.au