Own in North Sydney? An Expert Review reads these numbers against your street, your zoning and your timing.
Book an Expert ReviewCouncil's third-quarter report for 2025-26 records an 82-day average, while the state's June 2026 snapshot records 83 days. The measures use different reporting periods, so neither should be presented as the single latest truth.
The current statewide Statement of Expectations Order targets 90 days from 1 July 2026, 80 days from 1 July 2027 and 65 days from 1 July 2028, published by the NSW Department of Planning and confirmed current as at 2 August 2026.
What it means for an owner: the published averages are moving operational measures, not a guarantee for an individual application.
North Sydney's current 82- to 83-day measures sit below the 90-day target that began on 1 July 2026. That is a current comparison, not a prediction that every future quarter will remain below target.
The honest caveats
On the state's June snapshot, regionally significant DAs average 350 days in North Sydney. That is a separate measure from the 83-day standard-assessment figure and should not be collapsed into it.
Comparative context in the same state snapshot: Lane Cove assesses in 48 days, North Sydney in 83, and Mosman and Willoughby in 101.
What is actually driving the CBD
At 173-179 Walker Street and 11-17 Hampden Street, the official major-project page records approval on 1 April 2025 for a 239-dwelling proposal and 293 submissions. Those are the current official totals. Historical claims about how many submissions objected require their own dated submission audit before reuse.
- North Sydney Council, development assessment processing times
- North Sydney Council, 2025-26 third-quarter assessment report
- NSW Department of Planning, June 2026 Council League Table snapshot
- NSW Department of Planning, Statement of Expectations Order, confirmed 2 August 2026 (90/80/65 day targets)
- NSW Planning Portal, East Walker Street affordable-housing development