A local government has 60 days from accepting a development application to decide it, or 90 days if the application had to be advertised or was sent to another authority, unless the applicant agrees in writing to a longer time. If it has not decided by then, it is taken to have refused the application, and the applicant can ask the State Administrative Tribunal to review that refusal.
General informationThis page follows Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015, the deemed provisions that apply to all local planning schemes whether or not a scheme’s own text repeats them. It is general information, not planning or legal advice about any application. The local government that receives an application can say what it needs and how each step applies.
When approval is needed
Under clause 60 of the deemed provisions, nobody may start or carry out works on land in a scheme area, or use that land, without the local government’s development approval, unless clause 61 says approval is not required. Clause 61 sets out a table of works that need no approval, some of them only when the conditions printed beside them are all met.
The Act backs this up: where a scheme requires approval, development may only go ahead while the approval is in force, and only in line with its conditions.
Development approval is given under the planning scheme. Building work has its own approvals under the Building Act 2011, on forms the Building Commissioner approves, and the local government assesses those applications too. These guides cover the planning side only.
What goes in the application
Clause 62 asks for the prescribed “Application for development approval” form, signed by the owner of the land, with the fee and the plans and information clause 63 lists. A strata company or community corporation authorised by its registered by-laws, a person authorised by another law, or the owner’s agent may also sign as the owner.
The plans clause 63 lists show, among other things:
- where the site is, with street names, lot numbers, a north point and its dimensions
- ground levels now and as proposed, across the whole site
- existing buildings and natural features, including watercourses, wetlands and native vegetation, and what will be removed
- the present and proposed use, including hours of operation
- access for people on foot and in vehicles, car parking, loading areas and landscaping.
Elevations and sections go in too, with any specialist study the local government asks for, such as traffic or heritage. It may waive or vary any of these requirements.
Accepted for assessment
Within 7 days of receiving an application, the local government checks it against clauses 62 and 63 and tells the applicant in writing either that it is accepted for assessment, or that it must be amended or added to first. If no notice arrives within those 7 days, the application is taken to be accepted on the following day. When amended plans or extra material come in, the same 7-day check starts again.
The decision clock runs from acceptance, not from the day of lodging.
Advertising and referral
| Situation | What the local government does | Time for comment |
|---|---|---|
| A complex application, such as a use the zoning table does not mention for that zone | Must advertise it: a published notice, notice to owners and occupiers within 200 m and others likely to be affected, and a sign on the land | 28 days from first publication, or longer if agreed in writing |
| A class A use, an extended non-conforming use, a heritage assessment, or a departure from the scheme that is more than minor | Must advertise it, by any or all of a published notice, letters to those likely to be affected, and a sign | 14 days, or longer if agreed in writing |
| Any other application | May choose to advertise it in the same ways | 14 days if advertised |
| It may affect another statutory, public or planning authority | Sends that authority a copy for objections and recommendations | 42 days, which the local government may extend once by up to 14 days |
The local government may ask the applicant to pay the cost of advertising, or to put up the signs. It cannot decide the application until every comment period has closed. An authority that does not reply in time may be treated as having no objections.
Requests for more information
Once an application is accepted, the local government may ask in writing for further information it reasonably needs, giving at least 21 days to supply it. The applicant then has 7 days to agree or refuse in writing; saying nothing counts as refusing.
The answer matters to the clock. If the applicant agrees, the days from agreeing until the material is handed over (or the deadline passes, if sooner) are not counted. If the applicant refuses, the clock is unchanged, and the local government may not refuse to decide the application merely because of the refusal. Usually only one request is allowed, unless the application is complex, had to be advertised or referred, or the request is about new material the applicant sent in after acceptance.
The decision
Clause 67 lists the matters the local government gives due regard to, as far as each is relevant: among them orderly and proper planning, State and local planning policies, heritage, how the building’s height, bulk and scale sit with its neighbours, amenity, risks such as bush fire, traffic, and the submissions received. A use listed as class X in the zone cannot be approved, apart from a narrow exception for land already in non-conforming use.
It can grant approval without conditions, grant it with conditions, or refuse. It may not refuse only because no development contribution plan is in place.
From acceptance, for an application that was not required to be advertised or referred.
From acceptance, where it was required to be advertised or a copy went to another authority.
Past that time, the application is taken to be refused, though the local government can still decide it later and that late decision is valid. Notice of the decision is given in writing, and the decision takes effect on the day the notice is given to the applicant.
Related guides: conditions, lapse dates and changes, Development Assessment Panels for larger applications, and review at the State Administrative Tribunal.