Free
checklists.
Five one-page checklists for NSW sites, from the questions we work through on every job. Read them here, or download each one as a PDF.
Free to read, print or download
Each one fits on a single page. Download the PDF, or print this page.
Front fence to back fence
Read the checklist →Before you buyBefore you buy a development site
Read the checklist →Getting startedWhat to gather before your first call
Read the checklist →Approval pathwayDA or CDC?
Read the checklist →Reading the documentsReading a planning certificate
Read the checklist →Front fence to back fence
Sixteen questions about how a project will work for the people who live in it, walk past it and live next to it, asked in the order you would walk a lot. Each one is already tested somewhere in NSW planning, so we ask it early, before a design is drawn.
The street edge
- 01
Does the building face the street with windows and a front door, rather than a garage wall?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP street-front controls; the NSW crime-prevention guidelines councils apply to DAs
- 02
Can cars get in and out without reversing blind across a busy footpath?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP driveway controls; Australian Standard AS/NZS 2890.1 for off-street parking
- 03
Is the site on a busy road or next to a rail line?
Where NSW already tests itTransport and Infrastructure SEPP noise provisions and the NSW guideline for development near rail corridors and busy roads
Arriving
- 04
Can a visitor find the front door from the footpath, by day and at night?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP entry and street-address controls; the Apartment Design Guide for apartments
- 05
Do bins, letterboxes and meters have a place that doesn’t take over the front garden?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP waste storage and front setback controls
The home
- 06
Do the main living rooms get winter sun?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP solar access controls; the Apartment Design Guide for apartments
- 07
Can air move through the home, with windows on more than one side?
Where NSW already tests itThe Apartment Design Guide’s cross-ventilation targets; BASIX thermal comfort
- 08
Do windows have an outlook without looking straight into a neighbour’s?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP visual privacy controls; Apartment Design Guide building separation
The backyard
- 09
Does every home get private open space it can use, straight off a living area?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP private open space controls; the complying development codes
- 10
Is there deep soil where a tree can grow to full size?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP deep soil and landscaped area controls; Apartment Design Guide deep soil zones
The neighbours
- 11
Will the neighbours keep their winter sun?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil DCP overshadowing controls
- 12
Does the building step down or set back where it meets smaller houses next door?
Where NSW already tests itLEP height of buildings; DCP setback and building envelope controls
- 13
Would the bulk sit comfortably in the street as it looks today?
Where NSW already tests itLEP floor space ratio; DCP character and streetscape controls
Trees and the wider street
- 14
Can the existing trees be kept, especially street trees and trees near the boundaries?
Where NSW already tests itBiodiversity and Conservation SEPP (vegetation in urban areas); council tree rules
- 15
Is there a park, school or local shops within a short walk?
Where NSW already tests itCouncil open space maps; Greener Places
- 16
Is the site within walking distance of a station or town centre?
Where NSW already tests itLow and Mid-Rise Housing Policy (800 m catchments); Transport Oriented Development controls
Part of every Feasibility & Options, Design Brief and Approval Package. See our services.
Before you buy a development site
Most sites that disappoint do so because of something that was in the contract all along. Run these checks before you exchange.
- Read the section 10.7 planning certificate attached to the contract, line by line, and order the fuller 10.7(5) version with the council’s extra advice.
- Check the zone in the council’s LEP (Local Environmental Plan), then the minimum lot size, height limit and floor space ratio (FSR).
- Check whether the site sits inside a low and mid-rise housing area: within 800 m walk of a nominated station or town centre.
- Look for overlays that can stop or reshape a scheme: heritage, flooding, bushfire, acid sulfate soils, road widening and biodiversity.
- Read the title search, and order the section 88B instrument for easements, rights of carriageway and restrictions on use.
- Check the sewer service diagram for a main running under the part of the lot you want to build on.
- Measure the width at the building line, not just the area: many dual occupancy rules need 12 to 15 metres.
- Walk the site: slope and where stormwater drains, trees on and near the boundaries, and poles, street trees or bus stops on the frontage.
- Price the extras: council contributions (section 7.11 or 7.12) and the State’s Housing and Productivity Contribution.
- Work out the realistic yield once setbacks, landscaping and overlays are applied, not the theoretical maximum.
What to gather before your first call
You don’t need all of these. Send what you have and we’ll tell you what’s missing. Each one saves time and money later.
- The address, and the lot and DP (deposited plan) number from the rates notice or title.
- The contract for sale, if you have it: it includes the planning certificate, title search and sewer diagram.
- A section 10.7 planning certificate, ordered from the council if it isn’t in a contract.
- The title search and any section 88B instrument, from NSW Land Registry Services or a search broker.
- The sewer service diagram, from Sydney Water (or your local water authority outside Sydney Water’s area).
- Any survey of the site. A detail survey showing levels, trees and the neighbouring buildings is ideal.
- Past approvals for the site, from the council’s online application tracker.
- Photos of the site, the street and both neighbours.
- What you want to build, in a sentence, with a rough budget and your key dates, such as an exchange date.
DA or CDC?
A CDC (complying development certificate) is a fast approval for projects that meet fixed State standards. A DA (development application) is assessed by council on merit. Tick the first list before relying on a CDC.
A CDC is only an option if all of these are true
- The planning certificate says complying development can be carried out on the land.
- For new dwellings under the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code, the land is not a heritage item or in a heritage conservation area.
- For that code, the lot is not a battle-axe lot.
- On bushfire prone land, the bushfire attack level (BAL) is BAL-29 or lower.
- The lot meets the code’s minimum size and width.
- The design meets every numeric standard: height, setbacks, site coverage, landscaped area, private open space and parking.
A DA is usually the better route if any of these are true
- The design needs to depart from a standard, even slightly.
- The site is steep, irregular or tightly constrained.
- Heritage, flooding or a higher bushfire rating rules out a CDC.
- You want room to negotiate the design with council.
As a guide, a complete CDC is often issued within weeks; a DA usually takes months. The choice is a feasibility question, not a preference.
Reading a planning certificate
A section 10.7 planning certificate is the council’s official summary of the rules on a property. Part (2) holds the information every certificate must include; part (5) adds the council’s further advice. Find these on it.
- The date it was issued: it is a snapshot, and rules can change after it.
- The planning instruments and DCPs that apply, including any draft changes that have been exhibited.
- The zone, and what is permitted with consent, without consent, and prohibited.
- Whether complying development can be carried out on the land, and if not, why not.
- Heritage: whether the land is a heritage item or in a heritage conservation area.
- Flooding: whether flood-related development controls apply.
- Bushfire: whether the land is bush fire prone.
- Land reserved for a public purpose, such as road widening.
- The contributions plans that apply.
- In the (5) advice: anything else the council holds, such as contamination history or tree rules.
General information for NSW sites, not advice about a particular property. Planning controls change: check the current LEP, DCP and State policies for your site.