149 Certificates

Same development under the State Codes SEPP and Council’s DCP

Council’s DCP for Exempt and Complying Development was adopted in 2000 and identified 53 types of development as exempt development and 11 types of development as complying development. More recently, however, the State Government has introduced the State Codes SEPP which also identifies exempt development and complying development.

This often gives rise to a situation where Council’s DCP and the State Codes SEPP seek to address the same or similar types of development as exempt or complying.

Where this occurs, the Codes SEPP clause 1.9 specifies the relationship between the controls in the Codes SEPP and Council's DCP:

  • If exempt development in both the Codes SEPP and Council's Exempt and Complying DCP, only the provisions in the SEPP apply.
  • If complying development in both the Codes SEPP and Council's Exempt and Complying DCP, the applicant can choose to apply either the SEPP or the DCP provisions.
  • If complying development in the Codes SEPP and exempt development in Council's Exempt and Complying DCP, only the provisions in the SEPP apply.
  • If exempt development in the Codes SEPP and complying development in Council's Exempt and Complying DCP, the applicant can choose to apply either the SEPP or the DCP provisions.

For example, both the Codes SEPP and Council's DCP identify 'barbeques' as exempt development, though the development standards, such as the maximum size of the barbeque, are different. This is referred to as the ‘same development’ under clause 1.10 of the State Codes SEPP.

In such circumstances the State Codes SEPP will override Council’s DCP and the exempt development standards in the Codes SEPP must be applied instead of Council’s DCP.

You must check both the SEPP and Council’s DCP to determine if your development is the ‘same development’. To assist you identify whether the State Codes SEPP or Council’s DCP applies, the DCP has been marked up to identify the development types we consider to be the same under the State Codes.