Why don’t we have a planning system that encourages investment and development rather than one that actively encourages objection and delay? The answer lies in how we’ve allowed planning to become a political football rather than a professional process focussed on outcomes.

At Ark Capital, where we provide funding to developers across Victoria, I see this dysfunction play out daily. We back developers trying to address Australia’s chronic housing shortage, yet they’re constantly battling a system that seems designed to frustrate rather than facilitate good development. Every week of delay represents capital sitting idle, construction workers without projects, and families unable to find homes.

The maths of delay are brutal. A 6-12 month setback in a development project doesn’t just postpone one building – it creates a cascade of economic inefficiency. Capital that could be generating returns and creating jobs instead sits in limbo. Money that should be circulating through the economy, creating employment and generating tax revenue, remains trapped in the planning maze.

Planning in Victoria has become too political, and worse, it’s encouraging us to become a nation of professional objectors. Have we unintentionally become a society that defaults to objection, rather than collaboration? A More concerning still, have we become a society of the “great outraged,” with governments actively encouraging this mindset? 

The very language we use reveals the problem. “Does this planning application affect you?” is designed to provoke concern, not cooperation. It frames development as something that happens to communities rather than for them. This adversarial framing virtually guarantees objections, even for projects that would improve an area. 

Consider the absurdity: my planning permit has taken over 20 weeks just to reach advertising for a proposal that is smaller and less intrusive than what was previously approved. If the system can’t handle a straightforward residential renovation efficiently, how can it possibly cope with the major developments we desperately need? 

Victoria faces a significant housing shortage that is directly exacerbated by our broken planning system. While my permit is “just” a renovation and extension, the principles and delays are identical to those affecting major housing developments. The financial impact scales accordingly – where my project delay costs months of interest and escalating construction costs, larger developments face millions in additional expenses that ultimately get passed on to home buyers. 

This isn’t abstract policy debate; it’s about real people unable to find affordable housing because our system prioritises process over outcomes. Every unnecessary delay, every frivolous objection entertained, every requirement to redesign perfectly good developments contributes to the housing crisis. 

From Ark Capital’s perspective, the planning system represents one of the biggest risks in property development. We fund developers who have identified genuine housing needs and designed appropriate solutions, only to watch them navigate an obstacle course that seems designed to discourage investment rather than channel it productively. 

Delays lead to increased costs, reduced quality, and low confidence – none of which are good for investment. When developers can’t predict timeframes, when good designs get diluted by political interference, when objections from small groups can derail projects that would benefit thousands, the entire investment ecosystem suffers. 

The ripple effects extend far beyond individual projects. International investors look at our planning processes and invest elsewhere. Local developers scale back ambitions or exit the market entirely. Construction workers face uncertain employment. The economy loses the multiplier effect of development investment. 

The solution isn’t to abandon community consultation, but to change the language from one that encourages objection to one that invites collaboration. The current system’s language is designed to create opposition; we need language that builds solutions. 

Other jurisdictions manage to balance community input with development efficiency. They achieve this by focusing on objective planning criteria rather than subjective political pressure, by setting clear timeframes and sticking to them, and by treating development as an essential economic activity rather than a necessary evil. 

Every day my blue notice stands on my front fence, capital sits idle. Multiply this across thousands of applications throughout Victoria, and the scale of economic waste becomes staggering. We’re not just failing individual applicants – we’re failing the broader community that depends on efficient development processes for housing, employment, and economic growth.

The question on that notice should concern us all, but not in the way its authors intended. Yes, planning applications affect all of us – they affect our economic prosperity, our housing supply and our competitiveness as a state. The current system is affecting us very badly indeed.

It’s time to replace a system built on suspicion and delay with one focused on outcomes and efficiency. Our economic future depends on it, and our housing crisis demands it. The question isn’t whether planning applications affect us – it’s whether we’re prepared to fix the system that’s failing us all.