A DA is merit based and assessed by council

A Development Application (DA) is broken up into 2 stages; DA and CC (Construction Certificate). The DA is essentially a submission to Council about what you’re proposing to do and the CC is how it will be constructed. The Da and CC process can take up to 12 months including your design phase.

Here are 3 things you need to know:

01

Your DA will be assessed on merit from Council based on how you meet certain criteria within Council’s planning guidelines. You will need to lodge your DA with the Council to ensure they are happy with what you are proposing. Consider this stage as seeking permission.

02

From here Council will give one of 3 outcomes: DA Consent (approval), DA refusal (outlining the reasons why) or Deferred Commencement (approval only once you meet certain criteria). Once you receive your DA approval it will come with a notice of determination and Conditions of Consent. This is an outline of certain conditions you need to meet as part of the DA and these need to be reflected in your CC application. Common conditions can be things like acoustic reports if you are under a flight path.

03

Once you have got your DA approval you will need to engage a private certifier who will compile a checklist of requirements for you to obtain your CC. Once all of the CC documents have been collated and construction drawings completed you can then submit to the certifier for approval to start construction.

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” – Alan Lakein