The Planning Authority's job in Canberra used to be relatively simple: assess and approve building applications in the vast greenfield developments of the expanding city.
But today, the agency faces an unenviable task. Hundreds of applications are made every year to knock down, build, develop and renovate houses and apartments in the midst of the capital's suburbs.
Industry complaints of extended wait times for development approvals as the territory government pushes ahead with its missing middle project, while public servants try to improve a convoluted planning system in an increasingly complex city.
