Complying Development

A Complying Development Certificate can be issued by Council or a private certifier without the need for a full development application, providing the application meets very specific criteria.

Complying Development rules are set out by a State Policy:

There are general requirements listed under Part 1 that apply to all complying development and in addition, each type of development must also meet certain ‘Development Standards’ in order to be complying. 

There are other state policies (SEPPs) that allow for complying development, such as affordable housing and infrastructure.

View more details about these SEPPs and complying development:

Is my development a Complying Development?

Complying Development cannot be undertaken on all land.

To determine if your property meets the land-based requirements under the State Policy, you can apply to Council for a Section 10.7 Planning Certificate.

Complying development is unable to be used on some types of land, such as environmentally sensitive land, bushfire prone land with a BAL 40 or BAL FZ rating, land containing a heritage item and foreshore areas.

All Complying Development must still meet the National Construction Code (NCC) as well as the requirements for adjoining owners’ property rights, the applicable common law and other legislative requirements for approvals, licenses, permits and authorities.

What if I can’t meet all the criteria?

If your development does not satisfy all the controls or is proposed on land which is excluded from the state policy, complying development cannot be approved. A Development Application must be lodged via the NSW Planning Portal.

 

Lodge your Complying Development Certificate online via the NSW Planning Portal

You may need separate approvals or permits for specific parts of the development or activities before you lodge your application, such as:

After you lodge your application via the NSW Planning Portal, Council will determine if approval is granted.

If your development is approved, you will receive the conditions of consent.

Understanding complying development

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