State Planning Commission publishes the first planning Practice Guideline - Natural Ground Level

The State Planning Commission (the Commission) has published the first practice guideline to provide clarification on determining natural ground level when assessing development proposals.

Practice Guideline 1, which can be viewed on the PlanSA portal, provides:

• guidance on the interpretation of ‘natural ground level’ as it relates to policy provisions contained within the Planning and Design Code (the Code)
• reference to relevant planning case law which provides guidance as to how the term ‘natural ground level’ is to be understood and applied
• circumstances where the ‘finished’ or ‘existing’ ground level may be taken as the point of measurement in cases where it may be impractical or irrelevant to determine what the ‘natural’ ground level’ may be
• illustrations to assist planning authorities and the community to understand these principles in different circumstances.

Pursuant to section 43(3) of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, if a planning authority acts in accordance with the Practice Guideline, it will be taken to be acting consistently with the relevant policies in the Code when assessing development applications.

The State Planning Commission undertook targeted engagement with planning practitioners in preparing the Guideline.

For further information about practice guidelines, visit the PlanSA portal or contact the Commission Assessment Team on 1800 752 664 or email PlanSA@sa.gov.au.