Independent Hearing and Assessment Panels (IHAPs) will become mandatory for all councils in Sydney and Wollongong to guard against corruption and lead to better local planning decisions.
Minister for Planning and Housing, Anthony Roberts, and Minister for Local Government, Gabrielle Upton, announced the Government would set clear criteria for which development applications (DAs) are to go to the panels.
Mr Roberts announced it would be mandatory for panels to consider development applications worth between $5 million and $30 million.
Those over $30 million will be dealt with by the regional Sydney Planning Panels whose threshold is presently $20 million.
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