What is HDA & SSD
HDA – Housing Development Authorityis a specialized panel within the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure established in early 2025 to accelerate the delivery of major housing projects. It streamlines approvals, enabling large-scale housing to bypass local council planning, aiming to increase supply.
SSD – State Significant Development refers to major development projects — such as large-scale housing projects that are considered critical to the state’s economic, environmental, or social welfare. SSDs bypass local council assessment, with decisions made by the Department of Planning or the Minister for Planning.
Developers approach NSW Government with a proposal for an SSD
A NSW Government instrumentality reviews, facilitates and adjudicates on the process
Anyone (Public or Council) have a 10-business day window in which to comment / object
The application and submissions are asessed
A decision is made
A full description of the process can be found on Planning New South Wales website. An abbreviated version is provided below
The Developer applies for an SSD
The developer presents an Expression of Interest to the Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) for a development that will cost over $60 million and / or deliver 100 or more homes.
The HDA is a three-person panel—comprising senior public service leaders—that evaluates developers' Expressions of Interest (EOI) and recommends to the Minister for Planning which projects should be declared State Significant Developments.
The Minister declares it an SSD
If the HDA recommends an “SSD declaration”, the Minister for Planning can formally declare the project an SSD and the process moves to the next step.
The Developer submits a scoping report
The developer submits a Scoping Report directly to the NSW Planning Portal Major Projects Hub. The Department publishes this on the portal and now the project becomes publicly visible
Planning focus meeting
A Planning Focus Meeting (PFM) is a key early-stage meeting coordinated by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to discuss the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), identify necessary technical studies, and address key constraints early.
It brings together the developer, the local council, and government agencies to streamline the assessment of major projects.
It helps define the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs).
[1] Declaration & SEARs – Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements
This contains the specific requirements outlining what information must be included in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the SSD. They guide developers on key environmental, social, and technical issues that need assessment, ensuring a streamlined approval process.
It focuses on impacts like biodiversity, noise, traffic, waste, and built form, (height, scale, setbacks), impact on surrounding land uses, and required agency consultation as required by the specific project.
[2] The Developer Prepares a formal EIS
The developer prepares a detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) responding to the SEARs plus full architectural drawings and supporting development documentation.
Under the HDA pathway, the developer has a maximum of 9 months from when SEARs is issuaed to lodge the SSD application (SSDA) or the SEARs may be revoked.
This is the first time the community sees the actual design of the building. It includes site plans, floor plans, elevations, sections, shadow diagrams, photo-montages, and all supporting technical reports — traffic, heritage, social impact, etc.
[3] Public exhibition
The EIS and Technical Designs are published for public scrutiny on the NSW Planning Portal for 14 calendar days — approximately 10 business days.
Anyone has the right to make submissions for or against these plans, including recommendation for alterations to the Developer’s proposal.
This is the community's primary opportunity to have its concerns formally recorded. Under s4.15 of the EP&A Act, the consent authority is legally required to take into account all submissions received.
Every substantive personalised issue raised must be addressed in the Department's assessment report.
The 14-day window within which to respond is extremely tight.
The community and our experts need to have prepared the key aspects of submissions such as traffic and infrastructure impacts well ahead of this “exhibition window” so they can be fine tuned to be submitted in time.
[4] Collate Submissions
The Department collates and publishes all submissions on the Planning Portal.
[5] Developer responds to submissions
The Developer prepares a Response To Submissions (RTS) addressing issues raised by the public, Government Agencies, and Council.
Strong, evidence-based and specific submissions force the developer and the Department to address community concerns on the record.
The RTS may include amendments to the plans and design modifications.
The RTS is published and may itself be placed on further Exhibition for the public to make further submissions.
[6] The proposal is assessed
The Department of Planning prepares its whole-of-government assessment report, evaluating the application against the mandatory considerations in s4.15 of the EP&A Act: the applicable environmental planning instruments, the significant likely impacts of the development, the suitability of the site, all submissions received, and the public interest.
The assessment report includes a recommendation to approve (with conditions) or refuse. SSD applications are generally targeted for determination within an average of 275 calendar days from the time of the SSD’s lodgement to the final decision.
[7] A recommendation is made
The decision is made by Minister for Planning (or their delegate within the Department) and not the City of Canada Bay Council.
The Independent Planning Commission (IPCN) that usually has powers to review decisions if Council objects or 50+ public objections are received appears be side-lined if the SSD includes housing.
[8] The decision is announced
The decision is made by Minister for Planning (or their delegate within the Department) and not the City of Canada Bay Council.
The Independent Planning Commission (IPCN) that usually has powers to review decisions if Council objects or 50+ public objections are received appears be side-lined if the SSD includes housing.
Possible review by the Land & Environment Court
Within three months of a determination, anyone may seek judicial review in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
Judicial review examines whether the decision-maker followed correct procedures, considered all relevant matters (including submissions), and acted within their powers.
Note a review is not an appeal, it does not look at the merits of the case, only the way the case was conducted. For example, if mandatory significant considerations were not properly addressed or significant impacts were not taken into account there may be grounds for a review.
The quality of the submissions during the Public Exhibition phase can be critical to this.
Useful links
HDA Published records– detail the HDA’s recommendations on whether housing should be declared an SSD