PORT Stephens Council's development application (DA) process could be paperless by the year's end.
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From June 1, the council will launch its e-Planning project, starting with online DA lodgement and improved tracking system.
"Port Stephens Council will be one of the few councils in NSW that will stop requesting [a] paper format [for] supporting documentation (plans/reports) for development applications and construction certificates," a council spokeswoman said.
A notice of motion that asked for an investigation into making all DA information available online was put forward at an August 2013 council meeting.
The spokeswoman said Port Stephens would be the first in the country to use the new DA Tracker software, which would make the process paperless.
The software would also be compatible with mobile and tablet devices.
"The new DA tracker will answer a long lasting requirement from our community to upgrade and improve our current DA Tracker system and to increase transparency," the spokeswoman said.
"It will bring significant savings to our regular DA applicants by reducing the amount of printing and posting that will be required from them.
"On our end, it will reduce the assessment time and improve the way we communicate with our community."
