A new league table comparing development application processing speeds shows all five Lower Hunter councils are achieving state government targets.
Port Stephens led the way in the Lower Hunter with an average time of 61 days to process development applications in 2023-24, well inside the government expectation of 115.
Cessnock (79 days), Maitland (82), Lake Macquarie (91) and Newcastle (101) are also exceeding the government target for this financial year and the 105-day target for 2025-26.
The Minns government has adopted a legislated "statement of expectations" which requires councils to process DAs inside 95 days in 2026-27 and inside 85 days from 2027 onwards.
The league table shows Lake Macquarie City Council's planning department processed the second most DAs in the state last financial year, 1561, behind only the Central Coast with 1702.
Newcastle was eighth busiest, having processed 1062 applications, and Maitland 12th with 911.
The average processing time for NSW last financial year was 114 days.
Dungog had the slowest assessment time in the Hunter at 134 days, followed by Muswellbrook on 121.
Upper Hunter (91) and Singleton (80) were below the state average, and MidCoast Council processed 1000 applications at an average of 88 days.
Some Sydney councils, including Liverpool (256 days), Sutherland (232), North Sydney (205) and Cambelltown (197), had processing times well above the NSW average, along with Central Coast on 140.
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure will publish a monthly league table of council assessment performance from August 1.
Property Council Hunter and Central Coast regional director Amy De Lore said publishing the league table before the September council elections was "imperative".
"We're delighted to see the government deliver on its commitment to hold councils to account on housing," she said.
"Hunter councils are, on average, hitting targets, with many councils comfortably under the government's expectation of a 115-day turnaround on assessments.
"Central Coast council needs some work ... but the monthly updates will keep the focus firmly on faster assessments."
Lower Hunter councils assessed 4820 projects last year at an average of 86 days.
The average construction value of each development application, a measure of their complexity, was $439,000 in Lake Macquarie and $490,000 in Newcastle.
The league tables measured how long each council took to lodge development applications after receiving them.
Maitland was second fastest in the state for lodgement on an average of four days, Singleton equal fifth on six days and Lake Macquarie ninth on seven days.
Newcastle was just outside the top 10 on eight days, well inside the NSW average of 17.
The league tables are designed to push councils to speed up processing times as part of the government's commitment to adding 377,000 homes by mid-2029.
Councils that meet the targets will share in $200 million in funding for parks, sports fields and road and footpath maintenance.
"If we don't measure performance, then we can't monitor it properly," Minister for Planning Paul Scully said.
"Councils approve the vast majority of residential development in our state, so tracking their performance is critical if we together want to meet our housing targets.
"The updated statement of expectations, alongside improved monitoring, reporting, support and compliance initiatives, will help councils and the state to speed up development assessments and improve transparency and accountability in the planning process."
