Three councils have joined up to Queensland’s new pilot planning project, which will aim to best practice for council planning systems.

Premier Campbell Newman said the new “Planning Healthcheck” pilot project would build in planning reform already being rolled out by the State Government.

“We will keep improving council planning systems this year with the roll-out of three regional plans, the introduction of a State Planning Policy and a State Assessment and Referral Agency, plus a review of the infrastructure charges framework.

“Now we’re looking at the issue of cultural and attitudinal change so we can create Australia’s most efficient and effective planning and development system.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney said while industry had embraced the reform agenda, some local governments needed to improve their planning processes.

“The concerns raised include excessive approval timeframes, minor matters being bogged down through requiring applications, fees that bear no relation to the cost of assessment, and development standards that are ‘gold plated’, or excessive,” Mr Seeney said.

“The pilot scheme will be used to create a simple system for a council to assess their processes against the State Government’s expectations of best practice, identify areas for improvements and report against meaningful key performance indicators.