Part 11B is open to developments valued at $20 million or more that sit wholly or partly in the Perth or Peel region scheme areas or the Swan Valley Planning Scheme area, and at $5 million or more elsewhere in the State. The Commission decides them, generally through its Statutory Planning Committee, within 120 days of accepting the application or a longer time the applicant agrees to.
General informationThis page follows the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage’s Part 11B page (last updated 7 August 2026) and Part 11B of the Planning and Development Act 2005. It is not advice about any proposal. The department’s Significant Development Assessment Unit coordinates every Part 11B application and is the place to ask.
Which proposals can use it
| Route in | What qualifies |
|---|---|
| By value, Perth, Peel and Swan Valley | $20 million or more, wholly or partly in the region scheme or Swan Valley Planning Scheme areas |
| By value, the rest of the State | $5 million or more |
| Renewable energy (mandatory) | From 5 October 2026, any renewable energy proposal of $20 million or more, such as wind or solar farms, batteries, transmission, and hydrogen and ammonia production; Swan Valley Planning Scheme land is left out |
| Apartments with social or affordable housing | From 30 May 2025, apartments of any value in designated locations that include at least five per cent social or affordable housing |
| The Premier’s authorisation | A proposal under the value thresholds that raises issues of State or regional importance, on the Planning Minister’s recommendation |
The renewable energy row is the one that is not a choice: an application for mandatory significant development has to go to the Commission and cannot be made to the usual decision-maker. For the apartment route, the designated locations in the Perth and Peel region scheme areas are land coded R30 or above within 800 metres of a railway station or a higher-order activity centre; elsewhere, land in or within 800 metres of a commercial, centre or mixed-use zone.
The pathway is closed to proposals in improvement scheme, planning control or redevelopment authority areas, and to public works.
Before lodging
Consultation with the Commission before lodging is a requirement. It can be a meeting about a concept, or a request for written advice on a proposal. The Commission may also send a proposal to design review, either by the State Design Review Panel or by a reviewer from the department whom the Commission has endorsed.
Lodging and assessment
The application goes in through the Planning Online portal with the form, technical documents and fees, and assessment begins only once every required item is in and the fee is paid. The fee is worked out from the estimated cost of the development, excluding GST. Where the cost needs clarifying or sits just above a threshold, the unit may ask for a construction cost schedule.
A State Referral Coordination Unit gathers the views of State agencies into one coordinated response. The department lists the agencies that could be involved, among them the Environmental Protection Authority, Main Roads Western Australia and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. The local government gets 60 days to make a submission.
No public consultation period is prescribed, but every Form 11B-1 application is expected to be advertised for at least 28 days, through local newspaper notices, letters to nearby owners and occupiers, and signs on the site. Each application is also referred to the Minister for Planning for comment.
Where the Environmental Protection Authority is assessing a proposal, the committee cannot make a decision that would let it be carried out until the public environmental review is complete and any Ministerial Statement has been issued.
The committee’s decision
Minimum notice: the agenda and the unit’s recommendation are published at least this long before the meeting.
From acceptance to decision, unless a longer period is agreed.
After the meeting, the minutes and outcome are published and the parties told.
Meetings are open to the public, in person or online. Anyone wanting to address the committee applies in writing, by 9.30am two business days before the meeting. The Commission may approve, approve with conditions, or refuse. A decision made after the 120 days is still valid.
Unlike the local government and panel pathways, the Commission may in some circumstances decide in a way that conflicts with the planning instrument that would otherwise apply. Section 171R of the Act sets them out. Among them: the proposal raises issues of State or regional importance and the decision is in the public interest; the local planning scheme has not been published or consolidated in the preceding 5 years; or the conflict with a local planning scheme is minor and the decision is consistent with the general intent of the relevant State planning policies, planning codes, region planning scheme and local planning strategy. When it decides this way, it must have due regard to orderly and proper planning, and to preserving the amenity of the locality.
After the decision
The proponent may ask the State Administrative Tribunal to review a refusal or the conditions of an approval. Separately, the Governor, on the Premier’s advice, may cancel or amend a decision. An approval counts for every other law as if the usual decision-maker had made it. It does not replace any other approval a law requires: the Act’s own examples include a building or demolition permit under the Building Act 2011.
Changes, including a longer period to substantially commence, go in on Form 11B-2. Once a proponent sends in the documents its conditions call for, the unit generally says within 30 days whether they have been satisfied.
Smaller projects are covered in Development Assessment Panels and lodging a DA and the decision clock; conditions in general are in conditions, lapse dates and changes.