Council is committed to being open, honest and fair in its dealings with all customers and strives to provide timely, efficient and consistent service to our community.
We take our obligations to the community seriously and are committed to ensuring high standards of service are reached and maintained.
Please note: From Monday 21 October 2024, Council Planners and Building Surveyors will only be available between the hours of 8.30am -1pm each weekday for phone enquiries or drop-ins at the Customer Service desk at the Wagga Wagga Civic Centre.
This change comes from a review that aims to improve timeframes and provide sustainable planning and development services in the most efficient manner.
We will:
- Engage with you using language that is clear and concise;
- Be courteous, patient, and helpful at all times when communicating with you, our customers;
- Ensure that all correspondence includes correct contact details for the officer dealing with the matter;
- We will endeavour to have planning Development Assessments processed within 40 business days (note: provided all information is provided – noting the relationship between timeframes and complexity of applications, excepting Applications that are required to be referred to external agencies,
advertised, or presented to Council or Planning Panel for determination); - Endeavour to have your DART applications processed within 15 business days (note: provided all information provided, and excepting applications that are required to be referred to external agencies, advertised or presented to Council for determination).
- Have your subdivision certificates issued within 20 business days (note: provided all information provided);
- Have your residential plumbing and drainage applications determined within 7 days (section 68) (private), Electronic sewer service diagrams within 5 days of lodgement and hard copies within 7 days (current practice), Public section 68 applications determined within 7 Days (note: provided
all information provided); - Have your S149 Certificate processed within 5 business days
- Reply to general planning and building enquiries within 5 business days;
- Process construction certificates in 20 business days from the date that all of the required information has been supplied;
- Release your bank guarantees within 10 business days of release request;
- Ensure all building and plumbing inspections are undertaken within 48 hours of request and the result forwarded immediately after inspection to the applicant/builder;
- Forward inspection reports to the applicant/builder the same day;
- Acknowledge application submissions/objections within 5 business days
- Ensure that subdivision inspections are undertaken within 24 hours of request, result forwarded same day to applicants/consultants;
- Provide dog attack-livestock roaming services to the community from 8am to 4.40pm Monday to Saturday with an on call service for afterhours; and
- Work with you to develop solutions.
We commit to:
- Returning your phone calls within 24 hours;
- Acknowledging your Development Application(s) and Modify Consents within 7 business days of lodgement;
- Acknowledging and/or responding to all emails that require a response within 48 hours;
- Acknowledging correspondence within five business days;
- Calling where necessary, before we write, distribute a letter, additional information letter, email;
- Taking ownership of your enquiry;
- Negotiating timeframes with you for deliverables;
- Encouraging pre-lodgement discussions for applicants;
- Engaging with you in amendments to the LEP;
- Engaging with you in any amendments to the DCP;
- Taking a collaborative approach to major strategic planning for the city;
- Open and inclusive engagement processes;
- Listening and acknowledging your views and opinions;
- Validating and respecting the communities views;
- Educating to build community capacity around land use and development matters;
- Emailing additional information requests and consents when an email address is provided by an applicant.
We commit to:
- Actively engaging with you through industry reference groups, monthly industry stakeholder visits and industry newsletters;
- Attending meetings prepared and will take and upon request distribute minutes;
- Seeking your feedback on our performance through annual voice of the customer surveys;
- Using your feedback to improve our service;
- Providing you our customer with consistent and timely advice; and
- Ensuring our website is to be kept up to date.
We expect that you will:
- Provide accurate, quality, comprehensive information in accordance with relevant application requirements to allow easier processing;
- Keep one point of contact (applicant);
- Be respectful, polite, courteous and understanding to staff;
- Be respectful of our processes and agreed timeframes and commitments;
- Provide copies of required consents as required to building and plumbing contractors;
- Contribute to assisting us improve our processes and systems by providing constructive feedback;
- Call to make an appointment if you have a complex enquiry; and
- Work with us to develop solutions.