South Australian councils are complaining that a new planning system hailed as the "single biggest reform" to planning in state history is costing them time and money.
The e-planning system was rolled out over two years to all councils and centralises all stages of the development application process.
The $27 million online portal was designed to make it easier for applicants and assessors to manage applications as they move through the process.
But the president of SA's Local Government Association, Angela Evans, said 98 per cent of the councils it surveyed reported ongoing costs or resourcing burdens associated with the new system.
"They were spending a lot more time assessing and determining basic applications, and that means there was a lot more pressure on councils to meet their regulatory obligations."
The LGA's survey found 68 per cent of councils were spending more on planning consultants, 51 per cent had bigger legal bills and almost 40 per cent said administration costs had risen.
Ms Evans, who is also the Mayor of the City of Charles Sturt in Adelaide, said she had first-hand experience of the problems.
"We've had to contract some extra assessors to that position in order just to keep up with our regulatory obligation," she said.
Ms Evans said the new e-planning levy was costing some councils $60,000 a year and that a lodgement fee previously paid to councils by applicants was paid to the state government under the new system.
Councils ask for review
The LGA made several recommendations to the Attorney-General's department, which oversees local government.
One of them was for an independent review to be held of outcomes against the promised benefits.
"We've done our own survey, but [an independent review] would give us a body of evidence that we could work on," Ms Evans said.
The organisation also wanted representation from the local government sector on the State Planning Commission, which oversees the state's planning system.
Ms Evans said the government should abolish the e-planning levy and allow lodgement fees to be paid to councils as was previously the case.
The government has collected more than $11 million in lodgement fees since 2020, which has gone towards system maintenance and upgrades, and $2.5 million in e-planning levies.
It has also received $30 million in development assessment fees, of which two-thirds has been returned to councils to help cover the cost of assessing applications.
'More than 400' changes made
A spokesman for the Attorney-General's department said the system, which has now been used to lodge more than 40,000 applications, was designed to free up resources.
"Importantly, the ePlanning portal has shifted responsibility away from local government in a number of key areas, such as front-counter lodgements, with applications now lodged electronically and often by the applicants themselves rather than councils," the spokesman said.
"Government will continue to work with local government and update the system as necessary to achieve the objective of a simple, cost-effective platform that benefits both developers and councils."
