Prepare your application

Five steps to preparing a DA

  1. Be sure to understand what development rules apply
  2. Prepare plans, drawings and other material (see below)
  3. Prepare the Statement of Environmental Effects
  4. Complete the DA application form (PDF) which includes a lodgement checklist
  5. Lodge your application and pay the fees

Development Application (DA) Guide

Our Development Application (DA) Guide (PDF 256.8 kb) can guide you through the five steps listed above. The DA Guide's annexures are:

What do I need to submit?

The information varies considerably from site to site due to the type of building or development proposed, but all applications must submit:

In addition, your application may be supported by any number of expert reports, these can include:

To find out more about when expert reports may be required see our Development Application Guide (PDF 250 kb). For help developing these reports, see expert help for complex DAs.

Why spend more money on good quality plans?

All plans must be drawn to scale and comply as a minimum with Australian Standard AS1100 Technical Drawing. If you start your project with poor quality plans lacking detail or with inaccuracies then you can be assured that the application process will be slower and it is more likely that such plans will deliver a poor quality outcome. 

The plans should be based on an accurate and detailed Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) survey plan from a Registered Surveyor.  If your Architect is still drawning plans by hand they may be accepted, but we actively encourage CAD based plans because they are far more accurate.  Drafting errors which could cost you thousands of dollars to fix during the building process are far less likely in the CAD environment.

We don't expect Construction Certificate level, 1:50 detailed cross sections at the DA stage unless urban design detail is an issue, but you should make sure that your architect is briefed to work up these details for the Construction Certificate stage. Simple things like flashing details for windows, doors, uncovered deck/terraces and wet area detailing all contribute to getting it right during the building process.  Never leave it to the builder to decide on these issues. Your money is better spent getting the details right on the plans than spending thousands fixing building defects which may not show up for months or years after the builder has gone.

POOR QUALITY PLANS = POOR QUALITY BUILDING