e-Planning evolutions in Australia : a New South Wales perspective

![CDATA[In Australia e-Planning has largely been equated with eDA (e Development Assessment). Strategic and participatory planning aspects have been weak in the ePlanning drives and have been mostly covered by electronic information dissemination. In recent times there probably is some recognition that ePlanning should cover the full development cycle including participatory plan-making. However, the strength of such realization is not well studied. The Australian Federal Government has allocated $72 Million for regulation reduction and housing affordability over a period of seven years. A part of this funding has been targeted to promote the use of electronic development assessment (eDA) as a vehicle to implement planning reform agendas aimed at increasing standardization of planning systems, streamlining planning processes and implementing electronic interoperability between existing information systems. This exploratory paper analyzes the evolution of e-Planning thinking from a narrow interpretation of purely an alternative form of development application lodgment to a much broader understanding. Secondly, it investigates if the emerging theme of information dissemination to public through e-Planning covers mutual communication between the public and the planning system. Finally, it analyses the growing connections between the e-Planning and national e-governance initiatives. The overall research approach is to analyze documents published by various government agencies, investigate the approach and outcomes of past and present eDA/ePlanning projects and utilize the firsthand knowledge of the co-author (Williamson) gained through work with the New South Wales Department of Planning's e-Planning project. This paper seeks to inform an international audience of recent e-Planning trends in Australia. It will serve as a basis for discussion comparing such developments in other countries.]]