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Reform milestone with Development Assessment Panel members appointed

The State Government has delivered further reforms to the State’s Development Assessment Panel system with the appointment of the first ever fixed-term, full-time panel members.

29 August 2024

Marking one of the most significant shifts in the DAP system since it was introduced in 2011, the State Government has appointed five highly experienced and qualified urban and regional planning professionals who will serve full-time as specialist members.

This latest reform introduces a new tenure of appointment for full-time members requiring DAP membership to be their sole employment, minimising conflicts of interest and enhancing consistency in decision-making across the panels.

Those members are:

  • Ms Dale Page

  • Mr Eugene Koltasz

  • Ms Francesca Lefante

  • Mr Clayton Higham

  • Ms Karen Hyde 

The five members will be joined by another 12 sessional members representing various professional expertise to ensure a quorum is always available for DAP meetings. Sessional DAP members are experienced professionals that will provide expertise in a range of technical fields.

For a full list of the specialist DAP members, visit Development Assessment Panels.

DAPs are unique to Western Australia and comprise technical specialists and elected local government members to determine development applications made under local and regional planning schemes.

The newly appointed members were selected following an expression of interest process which attracted national interest and involved peak bodies from the planning, development and local government sectors.

New members will commence sitting on panel meetings in September, joining local government DAP members who bring their local knowledge and insights of the community to the assessment of development proposals.

Read the media statement for more information.

For more information

Development Assessment Panels Secretariat

Any correspondence relating to the Development Assessment Panels should be directed to the DAP secretariat via the details below. To provide feedback, please contact us by email.