Planning reform in South Australia

The South Australian system is currently undergoing a major review. Officially this is prompted by the need to adapt the system to allow implementation of the 30-Year Plan issued in 2010. In fact the system has been subject to repeated revisions since 2005 with changes to both the organisation of state government planning responsibilities via departmental restructuring, policy shifts, which have emphasised metropolitan-wide strategic planning at the expense of local concerns and attempts to streamline the system and reduce delays. A further focus for the current review is a refreshed approach to public consultation and involvement. The paper begins by documenting the reforms which have taken place over the period 2005–2013 set in the context of the major review which took place in 1991, and provided the framework of both policy and regulation for the next two decades. It then examines the drivers of the current review and speculates on the likely outcomes in the light of international and Australian trends in spatial and land-use planning reform.