Two ways to get a home approved
Almost every new home, knockdown rebuild, duplex or granny flat in NSW is approved through one of two pathways: a complying development certificate (CDC) or a development application (DA). The pathway you use changes how long approval takes, what the approval costs in fees and reports, and how much room there is to vary the design.
Many owners assume they can simply choose the faster option. In practice the land and the design decide. If both qualify for complying development, a CDC is usually the better route. If either doesn’t, the project goes to council as a DA. The useful question isn’t “which do I prefer?” but “which one is my block eligible for, and what would I have to give up in the design to qualify?”
What a CDC is
NSW Planning describes complying development as a combined planning and construction approval for straightforward development that can be determined through a fast-track assessment by a council or an accredited certifier. That combination matters: under a DA you normally need a development consent and then a separate construction certificate, while a CDC covers both.
The catch is that a CDC is a tick-box assessment. The design has to meet fixed numerical standards set by state policy — mainly the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes), known as the Codes SEPP, and for granny flats the Housing SEPP. Setbacks, building height, site coverage, landscaped area and privacy controls all have set numbers. If the plans meet every one, the certificate is issued. If one measurement is over, there is no discretion to approve it anyway.
What a DA is
A development application is lodged with council and assessed against the council’s local environmental plan (LEP) and development control plan (DCP). Unlike a CDC, a DA is a merit assessment: council can weigh up a design that doesn’t meet a control exactly if the outcome is still acceptable.
That flexibility is the main reason to choose a DA even when a CDC might be possible — for example, a design that needs a little more height on a sloping block, or a layout that works better with a reduced side setback. The trade-off is time and uncertainty. Neighbours may be notified and can make submissions, council may ask for amendments, and approval can come with conditions you need to design around.
Time and cost, according to NSW Planning
NSW Planning states that fast-tracked complying development approvals can be issued in as little as 20 days, or 10 days for NSW Housing Pattern Book development. It compares this with an average determination time for a development application of 70 days. These are published figures, not guarantees — an incomplete application or extra information requests will slow either path.
NSW Planning also states that homeowners can save up to $15,000 when building a house under complying development, with savings up to $2,600 for renovations. On a knockdown rebuild the time saved matters as much as the fees: every week the approval takes is another week of rent or mortgage repayments while nothing is being built.
When a CDC isn’t available
Some land can’t use complying development at all, and some can only use it with extra conditions. The most common reasons we see in Western Sydney are listed below. Any one of them can push a project to a DA even if the house design itself would comply.
Heritage: the lot is a heritage item or within a heritage conservation area. Hazards: certain flood categories, and some bush fire prone land where the bush fire attack level is too high. Infrastructure: easements, sewer or stormwater mains where the house needs to be built. Zoning: the type of housing isn’t permitted in the zone under the council’s LEP. Design: the plans exceed a numerical standard, such as height on a steep block.
How to find out which path your block can use
Start with a section 10.7 planning certificate from council, which you can order through the NSW Planning Portal. It lists the zoning, the planning controls that apply and constraints such as flood and bush fire mapping. If the block may be bush fire prone, the NSW RFS online tool shows whether it is mapped.
Combine the certificate with a contour survey and you, a certifier or a builder can usually say within a few days whether complying development is realistic. Doing this before detailed design avoids paying for plans that have to be redrawn for a different pathway.
Which one should you aim for?
If the block qualifies and the design you want fits the standards, a CDC is generally faster and simpler. If you want something the standards don’t allow, or the land has a constraint, plan for a DA from the start and allow for the extra time in your finance and rent budget.
For a knockdown rebuild, a duplex or a granny flat in Western Sydney, we check the planning certificate and survey first and tell you which path is realistic before you commit to a design. See our knockdown rebuild and duplex pages for how that fits into the wider process.
Sources
NSW Planning — Complying development: https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/assess-and-regulate/development-assessment/planning-approval-pathways/complying-development
NSW Planning Portal — Section 10.7 planning certificates: https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/development-and-assessment/post-consent-certificates/online-section-107-planning-certificate-service
NSW RFS — Check if you are in bush fire prone land: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/building-on-bush-fire-prone-land/bush-fire-prone-land/check-bfpl
NSW Planning Portal — Low Rise Housing Diversity Code: https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/development-and-assessment/codes-sepp/low-rise-housing-diversity-code