Approvals Fast Track Taskforce

Introduction

The Approvals Fast Track Taskforce has delivered its final report, Saying ‘Yes’ to Business, with 70 recommended actions to simplify approval processes and remove barriers to investment in the Territory.

View the main report and supplementary reports.

Saying 'Yes' to Business main report PDF (769.4 KB)

Saying  'Yes' to Business supplementary report PDF (1.1 MB)

Government response

• The Northern Territory Government welcomes the final report of the Approvals Fast Track Taskforce.
• The report’s direction aligns with our commitment to economic reform and our focus on making 2025 a year of action, certainty and security.
• We’ve made it clear: the Territory is open for business – we are cutting red tape and reducing approval times by 50%.

What’s already underway

• We’ve already made significant changes:
  • appointed a Territory Coordinator to identify key projects and fast-track statutory decisions
  • removed third-party merits review for planning, water and petroleum regulation, maintaining community input while reducing costly delays.
• The taskforce’s final report sets out a clear roadmap for applying a risk-based approach to regulation and fostering a regulatory culture that promotes business activity and certainty. It is built around 6 themes:
  1. modernising compliance requirements
  2. reducing unnecessary regulatory touchpoints
  3. enabling greater delegation and discretion
  4. increasing regulatory certainty
  5. driving system-wide improvements
  6. delivering effective regulatory stewardship.
• These reforms particularly support small businesses in sectors such as construction, agriculture and hospitality.

Saying ‘Yes’ to Business - our commitments

• Of the 70 recommended actions:
  • 60 are fully accepted
  • 10 are accepted in principle (recommended actions: 1B; 2G; 5A; 6C; 10A; 13; 19; 20; 22C; 22E)
  • 2 are already completed
  • 48 will be fast-tracked over the next 12 months (tranche 1)
  • 12 will be progressed over 2 to 3 years (tranche 2)
  • 8 require longer-term cultural and system reform (tranche 3).

Examples of regulatory reform commitments

Actions delivered

• System changes now allow the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, rather than the Development Consent Authority, to determine native vegetation clearing applications for horticultural or agricultural use on unzoned and some zoned land, providing greater clarity and faster approvals.
• A pre-approved list of place names has been created to streamline residential development. These place-specific, theme-based names have already been applied to the Holtze land release.

Fast-tracked reforms (tranche 1: next 12 months)

• An annual industry-led forum focused on regulatory issues across government. This structured forum will enable cross-sector input, strengthen regulatory stewardship, and accelerate reform outcomes. It complements annual funding provided to industry associations to represent sector interests and inform policy development.
• Introducing legislative amendments aimed at eliminating red tape relating to the building and planning, hospitality and mining sectors.

Medium-term reforms (tranche 2: 2 to 3 years)

• Working with industry to identify opportunities to take a risk-based approach to mining regulation, reflecting the broad industry support for this approach in the mining sector.
• Conducting a major review of the Local Government Act 2019 to identify further reform opportunities to reduce timeframes for local government approvals, with engagement from the local government sector.

Longer-term reforms (tranche 3: system and culture)

• Digitisation of all remaining small business forms, building on 100+ already digitised in Territory Services.
• Regular independent audits to prevent regulatory creep and ensure compliance is fit-for-purpose.
• Outcome-based KPIs to be mandated across agencies, focused on facilitation, not just compliance.

Accepted in principle

• Exploring options to introduce a non-mandatory registration for demolition service providers under an existing licence arrangement to allow for a streamlined approach, rather than creating a new licence class as recommended by the taskforce.
• Administrative Arrangements Orders will be updated to reflect the Minister for Trade, Business and Asian Relations as responsible for small business, rather than appointing a separate minister.
• Considering options for reforms to the Fidelity Fund that improve outcomes for consumers and builders and maintain current consumer protections rather than increasing the Fidelity Fund certificate minimum construction cost trigger.

Background

The Approvals Fast-Track Taskforce was appointed by Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro in November 2024 to provide expert advice on streamlining approvals and removing unnecessary and burdensome regulations.

The taskforce was comprised of industry experts from across the Territory to identify reforms that will benefit the greatest number of businesses, including small businesses across construction, hospitality, and agriculture and aquaculture sectors.

The taskforce membership consisted of:

• Mark Garraway (chair), former Property Council of Australia NT president
• Rebecca Bullen, founder/owner of Stone House, Charlie’s of Darwin and Darwin Distilling Co
• Michael Buckley, director of M+J Builders
• Andrew Dalglish, owner of Foxalicious Fruit
• Stuart Kenny, managing director of Territory Instruments
• Hermanus Louw, director of Louw Group
• Dan Richards, CEO of Humpty Doo Barramundi
• Tony Smith, director of NT Link (until February 2025).