The DA process

Planning Portal

Building or renovating your home is always exciting, but the Development Approval process can be overwhelming.

The NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment has developed some useful guidelines and tools to help you through the processes involved in preparing and lodging a development application and the steps post determination. Refer to the Department of Planning guide to the DA process.

 

DA assessment times

Environmental Planning and Assessment Statement of Expectations Order 2024

The Statement of Expectations Order (2024 Order) commenced on 1 July 2024 and sets expectation for councils in relation to their performance on a range of planning and development functions under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Benchmarks for council performance on development assessment include updated minimum performance standards for determining development applications, a new standard for lodgement times, the requirement for councils to complete the different stages of planning proposals within benchmark timeframes set out within the Local Environmental Plan Making guideline.

The Minister’s Expectations are applicable to both metropolitan and regional councils with the requirement for:

  • Councils to prepare assessment reports for a regionally significant development application and referral to the regional planning panel as soon as practical and within an average of 250 days from lodgement.
  • Councils to lodge development applications for which it is the consent authority as soon as practical and within an average of:
  • From 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025: 14 days from submission
  • From 1 July 2025 onwards: 7 days from submission.
  • Councils to determine applications for which it is the consent authority (including DAs determined by a local planning panel) as soon as practical and whichever is the lesser of council’s previous financial year average, or an average of:
  • From 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025: 115 days from lodgement
  • From 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026: 105 days from lodgement
  • From 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027: 95 days from lodgement
  • From 1 July 2027 onwards: 85 days from lodgement

How you can help

To help us progress the assessment of your application and to reduce delays, please ensure your application is complete and the required information is comprehensive, clearly labelled and referenced throughout the application documentation.

Your application should be accompanied by all of the required documents and plans as detailed in Council’s Development Application Lodgement Checklist(PDF, 492KB).

Please ensure your application includes:

To help things run as smoothly as possible, we ask applicants to please:

  • Upload all responses to additional information requests or any further documentation in support of your application via the NSW Planning Portal.
  • Use the Planning Portal as the source of all information relating to development applications. It will continue to be upgraded and improved for this purpose.
  • Email the assessment officer assigned to an application for enquiries. These enquiries should come from a single representative for the applicant only and not multiple persons/parties. Please allow at least three working days for all non-urgent replies.

In relation to community submissions, the assessment officer will contact community members who make a submission directly for any clarification if required. Each submission is considered in the assessment process.


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