Yes! The government is encouraging the construction of granny flats in most areas via Complying Development Applications.
Thanks to updates to the NSW Affordable Housing State Environmental Planning Policy, residential homeowners across NSW can now build a granny flat on their property without needing traditional council approval. As long as certain site and design requirements are met, the process is streamlined for compliance. This applies to properties within Central Coast Council, Lake Macquarie City Council, Newcastle City Council and other local government areas.
Under Complying Development, approvals can be obtained as quickly as ten working days (if your property meets the criteria for Complying Development).