Planning Concierge

The planning system can be difficult to navigate, particularly for new investors.

The Planning Concierge provides a central point of contact for industry, developers and Aboriginal land managers to provide guidance on the NSW planning system.

Collaborating with agency partners and other parts of the department, the concierge helps to mediate complex planning problems facing proponents, so projects aren’t held up in the system.

The team is skilled at providing intermediary services to remove barriers and simplify planning pathways to deliver housing, great planning outcomes and high public value projects throughout NSW.

Collaborating with agency partners and other parts of the department, the concierge helps to mediate complex planning problems facing the industry, so projects aren’t held up in the system.

The team is skilled at providing intermediary services to remove barriers and simplify planning pathways to keep the economy moving and deliver great planning and public benefit outcomes.

• Central point of contact for developers with a portfolio of projects navigating the NSW planning system.
• Assist developers to find clear planning pathways while maintaining sound planning decisions.
• Coordinate agencies across government to identify and resolve issues early – before projects enter the system.
• Mediation services to help progress projects stalled in the system.
• Manage general referrals, including investment attraction opportunities and Unsolicited Proposals, from government agencies that involve a planning transaction.

The Aboriginal Concierge Service works collaboratively with Aboriginal land managers including Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs) and Registered Native Title Body Corporates (RNTBC), to make sure their experiences in the planning system are seamless.

We are committed to ensuring supporting self determination of Aboriginal communities and ensuring their interactions with the planning system better enable Aboriginal land managers to pursue any cultural, environmental and economic aspirations on their land.

The team provides a central point of contact in the department and works with LALCs and RNTBCs to troubleshoot issues and build strong relationships with consent authorities and agencies in land-use planning.

We encourage LALCs and RNTBCs to get in touch.

The Community Housing Concierge is a new pilot initiative assisting participating Community Housing Providers (CHPs) navigate the planning system, helping to remove barriers and speed up the supply of social and affordable homes in NSW so that more people have access to a safe place to live.

Our goal is to support CHPs in the delivery of over 3,600 new affordable homes over the next 5 years. This work is in response to the Government’s commitments under the National Housing Accord to deliver 377,000 new homes across NSW by 2029.

20 CHPs have been selected to participate in the 12-month pilot, following an expression of interest process that took place between 23 January and 20 February 2024.

We will work in partnership with the participating providers, offering end-to-end project support, policy and planning system navigation and case management for stalled planning projects to unlock more social and affordable housing projects.

For more information about the Community Housing Concierge:

• Community Housing Concierge – Program Guideline (PDF, 138 KB)
• Attachment A – Planning Concierge – Service Charter and Probity Agreement (PDF, 176 KB)
• Attachment B – How to be a Model Proponent – Fact sheet (PDF, 105 KB)