In this guide
Development approval consists of one or more types of consent granted during the assessment process.
The consents required for your development depend on what is being proposed and where it is located.
Which consents apply
Development approval is set out by the new Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 and may require:
- planning consent
- building consent
- land division consent.
Planning consent
Required for development that may have a planning impact on its surrounding area, for example:
- building or extending a house
- changing the use of land from an office to a shop
- removing a significant tree.
Planning consent is granted by assessing the development against the planning rules to minimise any negative impacts on the surrounding area. A negative impact may be overlooking, overshadowing, increased noise or poor access.
Planning consent is usually granted by:
Occasionally, the State Planning Commission will grant planning consent for certain developments.
Building consent
Required for development that involves building work, for example:
- building a carport or garage
- building a swimming pool
- demolition.
Building consent is granted by assessing the development against the building rules to ensure building work will be undertaken in a safe and compliant way.
A building consent may be required even if no building works are proposed. This is because a change in land use may require different building fire safety requirements.
Building consent is usually granted by:
Land division consent
Required for development that involves the creation, movement or deletion of land boundaries, for example:
- moving the boundary between two allotments
- subdividing land into two
- amalgamating multiple allotments into one allotment.
Land division consent is granted by assessing the development against infrastructure requirements set out by legislation. This ensures the resulting land is appropriately serviced for land use development.
If land division consent is required, the development approval must also include a planning consent.
Land division consent is usually granted by a planner in either state or local government.
