Exempt development under the SEPP

Exempt development under the SEPP (Exempt and Complying development Codes) 2008

Exempt development is characterised as minor development that has minimal environmental impact on neighbourhood amenity.

Exempt development does not require Council consent provided all the development standards prescribed for the exempt development type are met. 

Part 2—Exempt Development Codes of the State Codes SEPP identifies 49 types of development as exempt development. These are listed in Table  1 below.

If you think your development is exempt development under the Part 2—Exempt Development Codes you must refer to the State Codes SEPP:

  • Clause 1.16 (General requirements for exempt development) and clause 1.19 (Land on which exempt development and complying development may not be carried out). These clauses restrict exempt development from being undertaken on certain land, such as land that comprises, or on which there is, a heritage item on the State Heritage Register, and
  • Part 2—Exempt Development Codes identify the specific development standards that apply to your type of development, in order for that development to be exempt development.

Note: Each development standard may include specific locational restrictions, so you must check the Codes SEPP to ensure your development satisfies all the requirements.

Table 1 Types of exempt development under the State Codes SEPP

Access ramps Fowl and poultry houses
Aerials and antennae Garbage bin storage enclosure
Air-conditioning units Hard stand spaces
Animal shelters Home businesses, home industries and home occupations
Automatic teller machines Home-based child care
Aviaries Hot water systems
Awnings, blinds and canopies Landscaping structures
Balconies, decks, patios, pergolas, terraces and verandahs Letterboxes
Barbeques Minor building alterations (internal)
Bed and breakfast accommodation Minor building alterations (external)
Bollards Pathways and paving
Cabanas, cubby houses, ferneries, garden sheds, gazebos and greenhouses Playground equipment
Carports Portable swimming pools and spas and child-resistant barriers
Change of use of premises Privacy screens 
Clothes hoists and clothes lines Rainwater tanks (above ground) 
Communications dishes (radio satellites) Rainwater tanks (below ground) 
Demolition Scaffolding, hoardings and temporary construction site fences
Driveways Screen enclosures (of balconies, decks, patios, pergolas, terraces and verandahs)
Earthworks and retaining walls Shade structures of canvas, fabric, mesh or the like
Evaporating cooling units (roof mounted) Signage (replacement of identification signs)

Farm buildings and structures

 Skylights, roofs, windows and ventilators
Fences (non rural) - behind the building line
Temporary builders' structures
Fences (non rural) - forward of the building line
Water features and ponds
Fences (rural)
Windmills
Flagpoles

If you think your development may be exempt development under the State Codes SEPP go to Exempt development under the SEPP.

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