National Electronic Development Assessments to help Aussie Homebuyers

Homebuyers across Australia will benefit from nationally consistent electronic development assessments (eDAs) being developed by the Rudd Government.

The Government has signed contracts and made the first payment as part of a $3.6 million program to ensure eDAs and online tracking of development applications will be nationally consistent.

The program will develop the electronic development assessment interoperability specifications (eDAIS), which will ensure a common protocol for the electronic lodgement of planning and development assessments.

The Western Australian Department of Planning and Infrastructure will host the National eDAIS Project Team and the Australian Government will fund this work to June 30, 2011.

“The Rudd Government is committed to seeing States and Territories reform their development application systems and believes it is important to help them work together to develop eDA in their jurisdictions,” Ms Plibersek said.

“This national leadership will ensure eDA develops consistently across Australia and delivers the end goal of reducing costs to business and saving new home buyers money.

“The eDAs will cut the red tape associated with lodging a development assessment application and streamline the assessment process. This will lower costs for builders and developers and, in turn, help home buyers.

“By providing a clear national framework, the Government is ensuring that all jurisdictions will develop systems which ‘talk to each other’, and will avoid the 21st Century equivalent of having different rail gauges in different states.”

Today’s announcement is a component of the $30 million to roll-out eDAs across the nation announced in August as part of the Housing Affordability Fund.

The Housing Affordability Fund is a Rudd Government initiative that invests $512 million over five years to target the planning and infrastructure costs that are incurred when building new housing developments.