Technical issues that have plagued the NSW Planning Portal have left homeowners unable to move in, forced local certifiers to lay off staff and will lead to illegal builds as the public struggle with a system that's too hard to use, Kootingal's Buildwise Certification owner Mervyn Prendergast said.

"I'm being honest when I say this is archaic and we will see illegal building works," he said.

"The state government wanted to recreate the wheel so they made a hexagon with six spokes missing.

"I work with some archaic stuff within councils, but this is just rubbish."

Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) spent countless hours designing its own online hub where anything from development applications (DA's) to construction certificates were lodged.

That was until a forced overhaul meant all DA's must be lodged through the NSW Planning Portal from July 1, to create a consistent system across the state.

The Association of Australian Certifiers (AAC) has urged the state government to shelve the planning portal until issues with the platform are fixed.

DPIE maintains the portal is saving people time and money and significantly reducing assessment times.

"Ongoing modifications are made to the system to ensure it meets the needs of its users," a DPIE spokeswoman said.

"As is the case in everything we do, we highly value feedback from industry and those in the community and have been working with the AAC to address some of their observations to improve the system for all users."

Read also:

Certifiers have been unable to register occupation certificates for Tamworth and claim Gunnedah Shire Council can accept approvals for registration but complying development certificates can't be lodged.

It means mums and dads who have paid good money to build a house can be left without permission to move in, Mr Prendergast said.

"This often leaves them stuck paying rent, while their brand-new house sits unoccupied, all because of the planning portal," he said.

TRC declined to comment.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: