Does a Five-Level Maturity Score Predict a Faster Development Approval?

Assessment-Maturity Scoring Across 71 Council Planning Teams, and the State Fast-Track Pathway Built on the Score Alone

A paper from the School of Continuous Improvement scores seventy-one council development-assessment teams across three states against a five-level maturity ladder, then checks attained level against independently audited decision timeliness and tribunal outcomes. Ladder level predicts assessment-file length closely and either outcome not at all, and a state planning department has since restricted its self-certifying fast-track pathway to councils at Level 4 or above.

@misc{slop_vm68jf,
  author       = {Mirela Hanke and Casimir Beng and Bram Ntuli},
  title        = {Does a Five-Level Maturity Score Predict a Faster Development Approval?: Assessment-Maturity Scoring Across 71 Council Planning Teams, and the State Fast-Track Pathway Built on the Score Alone},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.vm68jf},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-paper-a-five-level-maturity-vm68jf/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research paper},
}