The DA Process

Getting your development right at the start will save you time, money and ease you through the process with clarity and know-how on what to expect as you move through the development process.

Before you prepare and submit an application, we encourage you to chat one of Council's planners to obtain general advice. This is a free service, available via appointment for over the phone or in person.

The benefits of pre-lodgement advice include:

• access to the professionals who may be involved in assessing your application at an early stage, and to save you time and money in preparing your application;
• understanding early in the process what it is you are trying to achieve; and
• an agreement on what is required, as well as what is (or is not) possible on the proposed development site.

The NSW Planning Portal is a helpful online tool to assist with the process of identifying what may be permissible on your property and what you need to get prepared to make an application.

For more information, visit Stage 1 – Pre-lodgement | Planning (nsw.gov.au)

You must prepare and submit your development application on the NSW Planning Portal. Once you have submitted your application, Council will check that all the information has been provided. The EP&A Regulation sets out time frames and procedures that a consent authority must follow when assessing a DA.

To minimise delays throughout the process, it is important that your development application is lodged with the necessary information for Council to undertake an assessment, and Application Requirements can be found Application requirements – March 2022 (nsw.gov.au).

If you have provided enough information and paid the required fees, the ‘clock’, which measures how long council has to assess your application, will start. If the council finds more information is needed, the clock stops until you provide the required information.

Please note, your development application is only formally ‘lodged’ once you have received and paid your fee invoice for your development, so keep an eye out on the Planning Portal for more information.

This short video also provides a simple explanation of how to use the Portal to lodge a DA.

NSW Planning Portal - Online Development Application (youtube.com)

For more information, visit Stage 2 – Lodging your development application | Planning (nsw.gov.au)

In most instances, Council will be the consent authority for the DA. In certain circumstances, we may only undertake the assessment process and a regional panel or another government agency will act as the consent authority.

Once lodged, your application will be allocated to a member of our planning team for assessment.

Depending on the nature of the development, your application may be placed on public exhibition, or neighbour notified in accordance with Council’s Community Participation Plan.

All matters raised during the exhibition period will be carefully considered and reviewed during the assessment process.

What is considered during assessment?

Council must consider a number of statutory matters when assessing your application. These are outlined in section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and include:

• the provision of any environmental planning instrument ie. state environmental planning policies, regional environmental plans, and local environmental plans
• the provision of any draft environmental planning instrument (that is or has been placed on public exhibition)
• any development control plans
• the likely impacts of the development (including environmental impacts on both the natural and built environments, and social and economic impacts in the locality)
• the suitability of the site for the development
• advice from internal and external agencies
• any submissions made
• the public interest

For more information, visit Stage 3 – Assessment | Planning (nsw.gov.au)

Following the complete and proper consideration of your application, a determination will be made. There are three possible outcomes for a DA:

1. Development consent – granted, with conditions
2. DA refusal – with reasons
3. Deferred commencement consent – a consent not operating until one or more important matters are resolved. This is not a common outcome.

If consent is granted for your project, you'll obtain a development consent, also referred to as a Notice of Determination (NoD). Your development consent will outline any conditions that must be addressed prior, during and upon completion of construction works, or prior to use commencing. You may also have to obtain a number of other certificates or approvals, so read your consent carefully.

The DA is valid for a period of up to five years, in which time works must commence or the consent lapses. Once the development has commenced, the consent cannot lapse.

Why conditions are important

Your development consent is a legal document and is extremely important – you must build according to the conditions and approved Plans, to avoid possible penalties or having to take costly rectification measures.

As owners, you should carefully read and discuss these conditions with your certification and building team members, as the conditions may modify the proposal you submitted.

What if consent is refused?

If the Council is not in a position to support your proposal, development consent will not be granted. If this occurs, the assessment officer will then contact you to discuss issues and explain Council's position and the reasons for refusal.

Once you have obtained development consent, there may be a number of other applications, certificates or notices your proposal may require.

Construction Certificate

While receiving your development consent is worth celebrating, it does not mean that you can start building work. Before you can start building you must do 4 things:

1. Get a Construction Certificate (CC) – building approval from your council or a private certifier.
2. Appoint a Principal Certifying Authority (PCA) to monitor construction – this can be your council or an accredited certifier.
3. Give the council and the PCA two days’ notice before you start work.
4. Complete any works listed in the ‘Prior to commencing work’ part of the consent.

The CC must be obtained from your council or an accredited certifier and includes your detailed building plans/engineering details and specifications. The plans will most likely contain a lot more information than your approved DA plans, to allow your builder to work directly from them.

The construction plans must be consistent with your approved DA Plans and development consent.

During construction and building works, a number of critical stage inspections may be required, so carefully read your approval to ensure all inspections from the principal certifier are carried out.

For more information, visit Stage 5 – Get your Construction Certificate | Planning (nsw.gov.au)

Occupation Certificate

Once you have completed any building works or prior to use conditions, you can apply for an Occupation Certificate. The Occupation Certificate authorises the occupation and use of a new building or building section.

Depending on the particular occupation certificate sought, the PCA must be satisfied the development meets various regulatory standards. These generally include that:

• a development consent is in force,
• the design and construction of the building is not inconsistent with the development consent,
• any pre-conditions set out in the consent or requirements of planning agreements have been satisfied,
• a Construction Certificate has been issued,
• that the building is suitable for occupation (in accordance with its BCA classification).

The issue of the final Occupation Certificate is the last step in the formal DA and construction process (although there could be ongoing ‘operational’ conditions such as maintaining appropriate noise levels or landscape maintenance).