What Is Complying Development?

Complying Development is a fast track 14 day approval for straightforward residential, commercial and industrial development.

Providing the application meets specific criteria then it can be determined by a Council or accredited certifier without the need for a full development application.

Examples of Complying Development include:

  • renovations to a home
  • development of a granny flat
  • building a swimming pool
  • property extensions (up to two storeys)
  • building a garage or carport
  • the construction of a new industrial building
  • alterations and additions to industrial and commercial buildings
  • the demolition of a building

What are the steps?

  1. Contact us with your project brief to determine the project is in line with development crieria specified in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008.
  2. If the project does follow development standards set out by the code, obtain a section 149 certificate (2 & 5) from your local council, to confirm no restrictions apply to your allotment.
  3. Get started!

Where Is Complying Development Restricted?

(General Housing & Rural Housing Code general exclusions:)

Complying development under the general housing code & rural housing code can not be carried out every where, there are exclusions and restrictions:

  • Land within a heritage conservation area, except for items such as a detached outbuilding or swimming pool
  • Land reserved for public purpose by an environmental planning instrument
  • Sites identified as Class 1 or 2 Acid Sulphate Soils
  • Sites with an area less than 200sqm
  • Sites with an area less than 6m width
  • Within a river front area
  • Within a protected area
  • Within a flood prone area
  • Land that is in the 25 ANEF contour or a higher ANEF contour, unless the development is only for the erection of ancillary development, the alteration of or an addition to ancillary development or the alteration of a dwelling house
  • A “special area” – within the Water NSW Act 2014

Restrictions

General exclusions from this code

The following development is not development specified for this code:

(a)  the erection of a roof terrace on the topmost roof of an existing or new dwelling house or an existing or new outbuilding,

(b)  the erection of a building over a registered easement.

Complying Development For Granny Flats

To comply, your granny flat must be in one of the following zones:

  • Zone R1 General Residential,
  • Zone R2 Low Density Residential,
  • Zone R3 Medium Density Residential,
  • Zone R4 High Density Residential,
  • Zone R5 Large Lot Residential.

Other restrictions:

  • Minimum 450 square metre lot size.
  • Does not involve the construction/alteration of a basement.
  • Does not involve construction/alteration of a roof terrace

Development Application VS Complying Development

A complying development does not allow for non compliances. There is no ‘merit’ granted during the assessment of a complying development. A development application can, at times, provide approval to a non-compliant application.

Thanks for reading our post. Hopefully this covers a good chunk of the information you required. For more information, don’t hesitate, contact us.