Development applications: automating intake and completeness checks

What the rules say about intake (NSW example)

Rules differ between states, so check your own planning legislation. NSW gives a clear example of how intake is structured:

• Completeness before lodgement. NSW Planning Portal applications "must be reviewed for completeness before they can be lodged".
• Rejection window. A council can reject an application "within 14 days of lodgement", and "only… for the reasons outlined in section 39 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021".
• Benchmarks. The NSW councils' development assessment guide (updated 4 May 2023) sets benchmarks: standard applications determined within 40 days, fast-track applications within 25 days, and 14 days to withdraw incomplete applications. These are benchmarks, not the statutory deemed-refusal period.

Some projects also need Commonwealth approval. Under the EPBC Act, a proponent must "submit a referral if your project could impact any matters protected", and Commonwealth and state approvals are separate. A council intake check can flag when an application mentions matters that may need a referral, so the officer can ask the question early.

What an AI worker can check at intake

The council's lodgement checklist is the rulebook. The AI compares what was lodged against it, then reports to the intake officer:

• Required documents present. Plans, statement of environmental effects, owner's consent, BASIX or equivalent certificates, and any specialist reports your checklist requires for that application type.
• Consistency. Whether the address, lot and plan details, applicant name and description of development match across the form and the attachments.
• Legibility and format. Plans without a scale, missing elevations, unsigned forms or documents that can't be read.
• Fees. Whether a fee has been recorded against the application, if your process records it somewhere the AI can see.

The output is a short completeness summary with each gap linked to the checklist item it fails. From that, the AI drafts a request for further information in Word for the officer to edit. The officer decides whether the gap is a ground for rejection, a request for information, or acceptable.

Tracking assessment after lodgement

Once accepted, an application moves through stages: allocation, notification, referrals, requests for information, assessment report and determination. A register in Excel or a SharePoint list can hold every application's stage, officer, key dates and next action. An AI worker can keep that register current from the mailbox and documents. It can count days against your benchmarks and send a morning summary in Teams of applications approaching a benchmark or waiting on a referral.

It can also draft routine correspondence: acknowledgements, referral cover letters, reminders to applicants who have not answered a request for information, and notification letters for the officer to approve. Nothing is sent without approval. The Everything says it asks before anything important goes out. For council correspondence, treat every outgoing letter as important.

What stays with a person

• Accepting or rejecting the lodgement, and the reasons given.
• The merits assessment, referral advice, and the weight given to submissions.
• Conditions of consent and the determination itself.
• Any conversation with an applicant or objector that involves judgement or negotiation.

The AI prepares and tracks. The planner and the delegate decide.

Other states and US permitting

Every Australian state has its own planning legislation, portal and timeframes. The pattern is the same: a checklist, a completeness step, a clock, a determination. Build the AI's checklist from your own state's requirements, not NSW's.

US local governments handle zoning and building permits under state and local law, with no single national rule. The same intake approach applies. Federal projects can also trigger NEPA, which requires federal agencies to assess "major federal actions significantly affecting the environment" through an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement. Permit renewals and inspections are covered on the permits and licences page. Before using any AI tool on applicant information, see what to check before you start.

Questions people ask