Great in Theory, but . . .: Planner’s Perceptions of Queensland’s Performance-Based System

Performance-based planning (PBP) is an approach to regulatory planning that aims to achieve strategic objectives without mandating how those objectives are achieved. After more than twenty years of use in Australia, there has been little consideration of planners’ views of PBP. We survey planners about PBP and find that while there is in-principal support, considerable challenges are involved in successful implementation. Our findings highlight the conflicted and politicized landscape in which planners operate and indicate that the specific mechanisms used to deliver planning outcomes are perhaps less important than matters of trust, professionalism, and deliberative processes of plan development.