DA, CDC or Exempt Development for Outdoor Projects

Approvals are where most Sydney landscape projects lose time. Not because the process is unreasonable, but because homeowners find out which pathway applies to them after the design is finished rather than before it starts.

Exempt development

No application, no fee, no waiting - but only if the work meets every condition in the State Environmental Planning Policy. Typical exempt landscape work includes low retaining walls, decks under 600mm, garden sheds within size limits, most paving, planting and fencing at standard heights. The catch is that exemptions do not usually apply on heritage-listed land or in some conservation areas.

Complying Development (CDC)

A CDC is a combined planning and construction approval issued by a private certifier against a fixed set of standards. Most swimming pools, cabanas, larger decks and alfresco structures on standard residential blocks go this way. Turnaround is typically two to four weeks once documentation is complete, which is why it is the preferred path whenever a project can be designed to fit within the standards.

Development Application (DA)

A DA is assessed by council on merit. It is required when a project falls outside the complying standards - excavation over the permitted depth, work in a heritage conservation area, sites affected by flooding or bushfire, or anything that needs a variation. Timeframes vary by council: Woollahra and Mosman commonly run four to six months, Inner West and City of Sydney three to five, Hills Shire and Northern Beaches two to four for straightforward proposals.

• Exempt - no application, strict conditions, immediate start
• CDC - private certifier, 2 to 4 weeks, fixed standards
• DA - council assessment on merit, 2 to 6 months, allows variations

Designing to the complying standards where we can is often worth three months of a client's life.

What we lodge with an application

A complete submission usually includes a site plan with existing and proposed levels, landscape plans, sections, a stormwater and drainage plan, structural engineering where required, waste management, and for pools the barrier compliance detail. Incomplete applications are the leading cause of requests for information - and every RFI adds weeks.

Get the pathway right first

We assess the approval pathway at concept stage, before a single material is specified, so the design can be shaped around the fastest legitimate route. Where a DA is unavoidable, we prepare and manage it end to end.