approval rates and assessment times
From every development application in the ACT planning register. Time to decision is a direct input to holding costs — a scheme assessed in 180 days rather than 90 carries three more months of interest, rates and land tax before a single dwelling is sold.
| Application type | Applications | Median days | 90th percentile | Spread | Approved | Refused |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single Dwelling | 4479 | 31 | 94 | +63 | 95.7% | 3.3% |
| Demolition | 3070 | 55 | 165 | +110 | 94.0% | 4.6% |
| Multi Dwelling | 2245 | 77 | 179 | +102 | 91.8% | 6.9% |
| Lease Variation | 1897 | 72 | 204 | +132 | 92.8% | 5.3% |
Medians rather than means. Assessment durations have a long right tail — a handful of appeals drag the average somewhere no applicant will ever experience. Series with too few applications to be meaningful are left out rather than shown with a caveat.
How current this is
- Cadastre — blocks, zones, areas — current.
- Development applications — current.
- Lease Variation Charge — Schedule 2, Table 1 — recent, covering to 30 Jun 2027.
- LVC remissions and reductions — recent, covering to 30 Jun 2029.
- ACT Land and Property Report — stale, covering to 30 Jun 2025.
- Affected Residential Premises Register — stale, covering to 30 Jun 2026.
- Territory Plan controls — plot ratio, density, heights — recent, covering to 1 Jul 2026.
- Planning, lease administration and building services fees — stale, covering to 30 Jun 2026.
- Unimproved values — lagging, covering to 1 Jan 2026.