A combined planning and building approval, determined by a private certifier without a development application to council. Where a project meets the standards, it is far quicker than a development application.
A Complying Development Certificate is two approvals in one document. It grants the planning approval that would otherwise come from a development application, and the building approval that would otherwise come from a Construction Certificate. Once it is issued, you may build.
It exists because the State planning policy for complying development sets out fixed standards for common kinds of residential work. Where a proposal meets every one of those standards, there is nothing left to judge on merit — so the assessment does not have to go to council at all. That is the whole reason a CDC is faster: it is measured against a checklist rather than weighed as an opinion.
The flip side is that there is no discretion. A proposal that misses a standard by a small margin cannot be approved as complying development at any price. It has to be redesigned to comply, or go to council as a development application. Knowing which of those you are facing, early, is worth a great deal — and it is the first thing we tell you.
Homeowners building a new house, a granny flat, a pool, an extension or a duplex, where the work is the kind the complying development policy covers and the site allows it.
Builders and draftspeople who want the pathway confirmed before the drawings are finished, rather than after a client has paid for a set that cannot be approved.
Anyone who has been told their project needs a development application, but has not had the title documents checked. That check is quick, and it changes the answer often enough to be worth doing first.
A check of the site and the title documents to establish whether complying development is available at all, and a straight answer if it is not.
The assessment itself — the proposal measured against every standard that applies to it, and against the Building Code of Australia.
Lodgement and determination through the NSW Planning Portal, the certificate itself, and the conditions that attach to it.
Notification to council that the certificate has been issued, and a written list of what has to happen before work can start.
If you want one certifier for the whole project, we can also take the Principal Certifier appointment, attend the critical stage inspections and issue the Occupation Certificate at the end.
Not every site qualifies, regardless of what you want to build. Land can be excluded for reasons that have nothing to do with your design — a heritage item or a heritage conservation area, certain environmentally sensitive land, some foreshore land, and land affected by particular flood or bushfire constraints.
The property itself can also rule it out: a covenant on the title, an easement in the wrong place, or a restriction recorded in the 88B instrument can each stop a complying development pathway even where the planning standards are met.
This is why we ask for the title documents at the start rather than at the end. A half day spent checking the title is better than a redesign after the plans are drawn.
We issue a Complying Development Certificate within 15 days of the lodgement date, provided the application is complete.
Almost every delay in certification is a missing document rather than a slow assessment. If something is missing we tell you what it is straight away instead of letting the clock run — and you can see exactly what is outstanding at any time in the client portal.
A CDC is the beginning of the build, not the end of the paperwork. Council has to be notified, a Principal Certifier has to be appointed before work starts, and notice of commencement has to be given.
Critical stage inspections then run through the build, and an Occupation Certificate is issued at the end before the building may lawfully be occupied. We can carry all of that for you, so there is one certifier and one file from the first drawing to the final certificate.
Drawing first and checking the title later. A covenant, an easement or a restriction in the 88B instrument can rule out complying development on a site that meets every planning standard. It is the cheapest thing to check and the most expensive thing to discover late.
Assuming a neighbour's approval means yours will be the same. Complying development turns on the particular lot — its size, its shape, its slope, what is recorded against its title and what the land is affected by. Two houses in the same street can get different answers.
Lodging with documents missing. The assessment cannot start on an incomplete file, so a missing structural or stormwater plan does not shorten the process, it postpones it.
Treating the certificate as the last piece of paper. A CDC has conditions, council has to be notified, a Principal Certifier has to be appointed and notice of commencement has to be given before anyone can start.
Changing the build after the certificate is issued. Work has to match what was approved. If something changes, tell us — an amendment while the work is ahead of you is far simpler than an inspection that fails behind you.
We issue a Complying Development Certificate within 15 days of the lodgement date, where the application is complete. A missing document is the usual reason an application takes longer than that.
No. A Complying Development Certificate is a planning and building approval in its own right, determined by a registered private certifier. Council is notified that it has been issued, but it does not assess or approve the work.
It cannot be approved as complying development. The options are to redesign so that it complies, or to lodge a development application with council and then obtain a Construction Certificate once consent is granted. We will tell you which applies to your project before you spend money on it.
Send us the address and the plans and we will come back to you with a fixed fee and what the certification will involve. Or call (02) 8772 4022 and we will talk it through.
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