According to the Deputy Secretary of Delivery, Coordination, Digital and Insights at the Department of Planning and Environment, the myHome Planner has been designed to help those building or renovating a home in NSW by providing all the necessary steps and information in one convenient location.
She noted that building a home is a thrilling life milestone, but for first-timers, it can be a stressful, perplexing, and time-consuming process to navigate. The goal is to assist individuals in bringing their dream project to life, from laying the foundations to perfecting the finishing touches and alleviating some of the associated stress.
The Deputy Secretary of Customer, Delivery and Transformation at the Department of Customer Service stated that input gathered from a survey conducted by the department was used to shape the development of the tool. Over 70% of survey participants expressed that an interactive building guide would have been beneficial during their home construction, while nearly 60% mentioned that locating reliable information was a difficult task.
The myHome Planner furnishes dependable and transparent information on the legal requirements and regulations that must be followed when constructing a home. The newly introduced tool empowers customers with the necessary information to research, plan, and design a new home.
The myHome Planner has been created under the DCS’ Life Journeys, an initiative that collaborates with various government departments and agencies to assist customers in connecting with tailored support, enabling them to confidently and effortlessly navigate important life events.
The NSW Planning Portal has collaborated with the Department of Customer Service’s Life Journeys Programme to create a pre-development application assist tool and an interactive building guide for homeowners. These tools will be available on the NSW Planning Portal.
The programme is designed to offer early information and guidance to customers who are considering building a home or undertaking major renovations. Through the pre-development application (pre-DA) assist tool and interactive building guide, customers can obtain important information about the planning approvals process and requirements for their potential application.
The feedback received during the initial phase of the Life Journeys Program has been instrumental in shaping the benefits of the program, which align with the NSW Planning Portal’s objectives. The program aims to provide a range of benefits, including reduced assessment timeframes, increased transparency of government requirements such as council and planning laws or building standards, increased customer confidence by providing a single source of trusted information, increased productivity by consent authorities due to better-informed submissions and increased investment in NSW resulting from increased productivity and confidence.
By providing early information to customers contemplating the building of a home or major renovations, the programme aims to assist and guide them in obtaining pertinent pre-development application information about the planning approvals process. This information will enable customers to plan and budget appropriately, thus increasing their confidence in the process.
Moreover, consent authorities will benefit from better-informed submissions, resulting in increased productivity. This, in turn, will increase investment in NSW, providing a boost to the state’s economy. The program’s objectives align with the NSW Planning Portal’s goals of simplifying the planning process and making it more accessible to the public.
The development of the myHome Planner tool aims to help individuals navigate complex processes such as building a home or obtaining planning approvals. These tools are designed to provide clear and trusted information, increase transparency and confidence, and ultimately lead to more efficient and productive outcomes.
