AI earns its place at the planning counter
Every home, apartment block and shopping centre in Australia starts with two questions. What can be built on this site, and will the council approve it?
The 26 companies in the Planning & Design category of the 2026 Proptech Map exist to answer those questions faster.
They are a small but pivotal slice of a map that now counts 572 companies across 14 categories, and this year they have watched AI move from the conference stage into council offices and architecture studios.
The size of the prize is hard to ignore. According to Already Zoned, a report published in September by Archistar, one of the companies on the map, almost two million established residential sites across Australia already have zoning that permits additional housing.
Those sites could deliver about 3.57 million extra dwellings, a 31% increase in national housing stock. Finding those sites and getting them approved is exactly the work this category does.
Councils are moving first
Some of the fastest movers have been local governments. In Tasmania, Huon Valley Council in July launched the state’s first AI-powered digital planning portal.
The council says the system reads plans, identifies bushfire, flood and heritage overlays and runs an initial compliance check against the Tasmanian Planning Scheme. That’s work that once took days.
In NSW, Wingecarribee Shire Council has reported results from its state-funded AI planning assistant, DAISY. General manager Lisa Miscamble told Government News in September that 89% of development applications were determined within the state’s expected timeframe. That’s 20% above the NSW average.
Bayside Council in Sydney is trialling Planning Pathfinder, a chatbot built with Archistar that tells residents which type of approval they are likely to need.
In Victoria, Mitchell Shire Council has launched myLot to give residents property-specific permit guidance, and last month Swan Hill Rural City Council followed.
Governments are building the framework around these pilots. The NSW Planning Portal’s roadmap lists agentic AI tools that summarise applications for assessors. It’s due for launch in mid-2027.
Architects are further along than many assume. The Association of Consulting Architects’ 2026 Pulse Check, a survey of 270 practices, found 70% now use AI at least occasionally, yet 68% have no formal AI policy. In a supplementary submission to the Senate inquiry into AI and data centres in August, the Australian Institute of Architects asked for the built environment to be recognised as a priority sector in national AI policy. National President David Wagner said AI already assisted with project administration, visualisation and sustainability assessments. Regulatory oversight needed to keep pace, he said.
Four ways our community is shortening the path to approval
1. ) Planning answers and approvals. This is where AI is most visible. Archistar says its AI PreCheck software is now in production with more than 30 municipalities across Australia, the United States and Canada. MyLot says its assessment tool helps council planners review applications up to 50% faster. Spero-AI was named AI-Native Planning Innovation Company of the Year for Australasia in the BUILD Magazine Architecture Awards. PropCode, Property Jeanie and PlotWise answer the “what can I build here?” question for individual addresses, with Property Jeanie covering NSW, VIC and QLD and PlotWise offering a free tool for Tasmania. uDrew lets users self-assess and lodge applications, Canibuild lets builders check site suitability remotely, and AEC Assistant brings construction standards into one AI platform.
2.) Site analysis and feasibility. Feasly replaces feasibility spreadsheets with live models, PODIUM takes projects from site setup to BIM-ready design, Parsel integrates land use and infrastructure planning, and MyPropHub supports investment decisions. Urban Prospects finds development sites in Sydney, and Urban Perspectives advises on planning approvals in NSW.
3.) Capturing and visualising the site. Matterport and CubiCasa turn scans into digital twins and floor plans, LARKI delivers 3D scans and BIM models, and Propeller turns drone surveys into 3D data. PALAMIR, PropertyRender and 3dwalkabout help buyers, councils and communities see a project before it exists.
4.) New ways to design and build. Melbourne-based LUYTEN builds 3D concrete printers, Unio designs rooms that adapt to several uses, Houzz connects homeowners with design professionals, and Ballast Point matches homeowners with architects and builders in Sydney’s Inner West.
AI in planning is not replacing planners or architects. The councils using these tools have been careful to say the software gives people a better starting point, and the decision stays with the professional. The gain is fewer incomplete applications, and more time for planners to spend on the proposals that genuinely need their judgement.
Bottom line: With almost two million sites already zoned for more housing, the planning system is where Australia’s supply ambitions are won or lost. The 26 companies on this map are already shortening the distance between an idea and an approval, and they are doing it alongside councils, planners and architects. That may make this one of the most direct ways technology can help Australia build the homes it needs.
Planning & Design is part of the staged release of the 2026 Proptech Map. Is your company missing from the map, or listed in the wrong category? We want to hear from you at members@proptechaustralia.com.au.
We are releasing each of the 14 category maps as a static slide, but Proptech Australia members get the full interactive Proptech Map online, where they can search, filter and explore all 572 companies across every category.
For more information on becoming a member, go to https://www.proptechaustralia.com.au/signup. Or email our Membership Services Specialist, Patricia Louise, at members@proptechaustralia.com.au.
