Central Coast Council's Duplicate Image Problem: What Changed This Week

Central Coast Council confirmed this week it is working through a backlog of duplicate and incorrectly labelled images embedded in publicly accessible planning documents and property records on its website, after staff identified the problem during a scheduled audit of the Council's digital content management system. The review, which began in late June 2026, has already flagged errors in documents tied to development applications lodged through the Gosford CBD renewal precinct and the Wyong local area.

The timing matters. Council is still rebuilding public trust after emerging from state-appointed administration in 2021 following a well-documented financial crisis. Any fresh questions about the accuracy or completeness of publicly available documents — including development application imagery, flood mapping overlays, and heritage register photos — carry extra weight in that context. Ratepayers and property investors alike rely on Council's online portal to make decisions about land in one of New South Wales' fastest-growing regional corridors.

What the Audit Found

The problem centres on Council's content library, where images uploaded for one development application or planning policy document were, in some cases, automatically associated with unrelated records. Staff identified the issue after a routine quality check on the Gosford City Centre Master Plan documentation, which has been updated several times since the 2022 rezoning announcement. Duplicate aerial photographs and outdated streetscape renders — some showing Mann Street, Gosford, in a pre-renewal state — were found attached to current 2025-26 application files.

Council's property and planning teams have been working through the affected files at its Gosford administration building on Hely Street. As of Friday, July 4, staff had cleared duplicates from more than 60 records, according to the internal progress update referenced in Council's weekly operational bulletin. The full audit covers an estimated 400 to 500 individual document entries across the ePathway online portal, which is the primary submission and tracking tool used by developers and private certifiers operating on the Central Coast.

The issue is not limited to the Gosford precinct. Records associated with development sites near Tuggerah Business Park and along the Pacific Highway corridor in Wyong Shire — the northern section of the Council area — were also flagged. Property owners who lodged applications between January 2024 and March 2026 are being asked to log back into the portal and verify that the images attached to their applications reflect their actual submissions.

What Residents and Developers Should Do Now

Council has not issued a formal public notice as of Saturday morning, but its customer service team at the Wyong and Gosford offices is fielding enquiries. Anyone with an active development application or a recently approved consent is advised to download a fresh copy of their determination letter and attached plans directly from ePathway to ensure the version on record matches what was approved. Council's planning helpline — accessible through the main 1300 463 954 number — is the recommended first contact point for anyone concerned a duplicate or incorrect image may have been assessed as part of their application.

For prospective buyers doing due diligence on Central Coast properties, the practical advice from conveyancers in the region has consistently been to request a Section 10.7 planning certificate directly from Council rather than relying solely on portal snapshots. That process costs $133 for a standard certificate under the current NSW Government fee schedule and generates a fresh, authoritative record of planning controls at the time of issue.

Council says it expects to complete the image audit by the end of July 2026. If any application is found to have been determined using an incorrect image set, the affected applicant will be contacted individually. No consents have been revoked as a result of the audit so far. The broader digital records upgrade, part of a technology improvement program Council flagged in its 2025-26 operational plan, is now expected to be fully deployed before the October 2026 quarterly review.