What planning consultants do?

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Before the 2000 there weren't so many planning consultants.  Developers back then did the planning work themselves because Council town planners helped them.  Now most local governments are unable or unwilling to help so planning consultants stepped in.

 

Since 2011 the number of planning consultants in Queensland has more than doubled (ABS: 2021) - and their role changed.

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The main role of a planning consultants is to get planning permits. But this is not something planners learn at university - it's all learned on the job; and most planning permit applications are 'code' assessable - which means ticking boxes in code tables - which doesn't require much knowledge of town planning anyway.

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Most town planners however will say they save developers money, get permits sooner, and provide certainty that a permit will be granted. 

 

However, it now takes longer to get a permit than ever before, and costs keep rising....and because Queensland town planning schemes are 'code' based in most cases you know if you're going to get a planning permit before its even lodged. 

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What tasks do planning consultants perform?

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Most of the work planning consultant do is done during the 'pre-construction' phase:

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1. Providing advice on development site selection - by undertaking a due diligence and development feasibility assessment of potential sites. This is to make sure the development the developer intends to use the site for is not prohibited, and its reasonably possible that a planning permit can be obtained for the development. This is often done prior to purchase.

2. Recommending designers and sub-consultants - and working with them to assemble all the information needed to prepare a planning permit application.

3. Preparing the planning permit application - completing pro-forma application documents, preparing responses to the relevant planning issues, and drafting a planning report.

4. Following lodgment of the application - responding to any further information requests, ensuring permit conditions are complied with, and getting plans stamped to allow construction to commence - then, if necessary, obtain an approval to subdivide the site.

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What planning consultants cost

 

Planning consultant fees are based on hourly rates of between $250/hr to $400 per/hr or even more.

 

This means a full town planning service (i.e., 1 to 4 above) for a simple dual occupancy is often around $8,000 + 10% GST, plus an additional 4% for disbursements for things like plan printing, asset depreciation, etc. (which are tax deductible anyway). The total cost can therefore exceed $10,000.  

......but planning consultants also delay getting permit applications, which increases the risk of investment and increases land holding costs.  For example - planning consultants have other projects to work on at the same time and can delay getting applications lodged because they don't start tasks until everything else, such as development plans, is completed. 

 

In total this can add 1 to 2 months to the time it takes to get a planning permit and start building - which at around $5,000/month can be a major additional burden.