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Development applications

You may be required to submit a Development Application (DA) before you can make changes to a building or site. This might include:

• building a residential, commercial or industrial building
• making an alteration or addition to a residential, commercial or industrial property
• subdividing land
• changing the use of a building.

For information about how to prepare a Development Application, click here.

NSW Planning Portal

As of 1 January 2021, Waverley Council can only accept the following applications via the NSW Planning Portal:

• Development Applications (including S4.55 Modification and S8.2 Review applications)
• Construction Certificate and Occupation Certificate applications
• Subdivision Certificate applications and
• Complying Development Certificate applications

You cannot submit an application for Heritage Exemption Certificates, Building Information Certificates or Footpath Seating/Dining applications or Pre-DA applications via the NSW Planning Portal. These applications must still be submitted directly to Council. (See details below regarding 'Other Applications'.)

You can submit your application via the NSW Planning Portal from your home or office or there is a computer available at Council’s Customer Service Centre for you to use the online service. If you need assistance using the online service, please view the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s How To Guide or contact Service NSW on 1300 305 695 for additional support.

When you lodge your application via the portal you will still need to provide all of the relevant information required by Waverley Council.

To lodge your application via the NSW Planning Portal, you need to register for a NSW Planning Portal account to start your application. Once you are logged in as a registered user, you need to:

• Complete the online application
• Upload all the required application documents (forms, plans and supporting documents) which apply to your proposal as stipulated in the Waverley Council’s DA checklist. Please refer to the Waverley Development Application Guide for detailed explanation of the lodgement requirements.
• All documents uploaded via the Planning Portal must comply with Waverley Council’s Electronic Lodgement Guidelines (documents which do not meet the electronic submissions guidelines, including using the correct file naming convention will be returned and not lodged).

Your application will not be formally lodged via the NSW Planning Portal until it has been checked for accuracy and completeness by Council AND the full and correct fees have been paid. Fees are calculated on a scale based on the estimated cost of development (and also the number of lots in the case of applications proposing subdivision).

It is suggested that you contact Council’s Planning Counter to request a fee quote for your proposal, to ensure that you are aware of the fee that will be requested if your DA is accepted.

Once your application has been checked for completeness, we will email you an invoice and you can pay the fees directly via BPay, or over the phone via credit card.

The application is considered lodged once the necessary information has been provided and the  fees have been paid. Council will not begin processing the application until all the relevant fees are paid. Application fees not paid within 48 hours of the invoice being issued will be rejected.

Your application will be uploaded into Council’s electronic management system, enabling customers to track the progress of their application online and to provide public exhibition of the application material where required.

Hard copy plans required for some applications

Applications lodged via the NSW Planning Portal which require review by the Waverley Design Excellence Advisory Panel will still require the submission of 4 x A3 size hard copies of the architectural plans including landscaping plans and photo montages. Please refer to the Design Excellence Advisory Panel page for more information.

Once you receive confirmation that your application has been lodged, these plans must be posted or submitted in person to Council’s Customer Service Centre attention to the Design Excellence Advisory Panel Coordinator.

Other Applications

The following applications must also be submitted in digital form (as PDF documents emailed or provided on a CD, USB or similar device) directly to Council including;

• Pre DAs (applications seeking preliminary review of a proposal)
• Footpath Seating/Dining applications (associated with an approved cafe' or restaurant)
• Building Information Certificate applications
• Heritage Exemption Certificate applications
• Documentation relating to an appeal lodged in the Land and Environment Court

These applications can be submitted via email to info@waverley.nsw.gov.au or via mail with a CD/USB (which cannot be returned). Applications will not be accepted if the digital files are not collated and labelled in accordance with the requirements that can be found in the Electronic Lodgement Guidelines or provided without a valid email address. Please ensure you log onto Council’s website and download the Development Application forms to complete before you lodge.

Need more information?

The Duty Planner is generally available to answer general enquiries regarding the planning process and lodgement requirements and is contactable on the phone or via email duty.planner@waverley.nsw.gov.au. Your enquiry will be answered as soon as possible given the complexity of the matter. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The Duty Planner is not able to provide detailed planning advice or high level planning information. If this is required, you may need to engage your own planning consultant or legal practitioner. To find out what level of assistance the Duty Planner can provide, please refer to the Planning a Development page.

For more information about DAs, please follow the links below.

• Do you need a DA? Exempt and Complying Development
• Consider whether you need a Pre-Development Application
• Preparing your Development Application
• Application Forms
• The DA process
• Who will determine my DA - Decision Makers
• Post Determination (Section 4.55 and Section 8.2 Applications)