Complying Development
What is Complying Development?
Complying developments are developments that comply with local or state government development standards for a particular development type.
Complying Development Applications are approved through the issuing of a Complying Development Certificate. Applicants can lodge a Complying Development Application with Council or an Accredited Certifier. Complying Developments must be determined within a statutory timeframe of ten (10) days.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the proposed development achieves all of the Complying Development requirements stipulated under the State or Local Codes. Council and Accredited Certifiers have no discretionary authority when it comes to complying development.
Complying Development - State Environmental Planing Policy (Exempt and Complying Development) 2008 ("Codes SEPP")
There are currently seven (7) Complying Development under the Codes SEPP. These include:
- General Housing Code -includes construction of single and two(2) storey dwelling houses and ancillary development
- Rural Housing Code- includes alterations and additions to existing houses and ancillary development in rural zones
- Housing Alterations Code - includes internal and external alterations and additions to existing dwelling houses
- General Development Code - includes development standards for other development types which do not fit within other sections of the SEPP (e.g. Bed and Breakfast accommodation)
- General Commercial and Industrial Code - includes internal building alterations, change of use proposals, mechanical ventilation systems, shop front and awning alterations to commercial and industrial premises
- Subdivisions Code - includes development standards for strata subdivision of existing buildings (other than dual occupancies)
- Demolition Code - outlines the development standards for demolition
For any Complying Development under the Codes SEPP, approval cannot be granted when the land:
- is an environmentally sensitive area, or
- critical habitat, or
- comprises, or on which there is, an item of environmental heritage that is subject to an interim heritage order under the Heritage Act 1977, or that is listed on the State Heritage Register under the Heritage Act 1977, or is identified as a such an item on an environmental planning instrument, or
- land within a wilderness area (identified under the Wilderness Act 1987).
If only a part of a lot is affected by any of the above constraints, complying development must not be carried out on any part of that lot.
In addition to the above, Complying Development under the General Housing Code cannot be carried out when the land:
- is within a heritage conservation area or a draft heritage conservation area, unless the development is a detached outbuilding or swimming pool, or
- is reserved for a public purpose in an environmental planning instrument, or
- is land affected by Class 1 or Class 2 Acid Sulfate Soils, or
- is subject to a biobanking agreement under Part 7A of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 or is subject to a property vegetation plan under the Native Vegetation Act 2003, or
- is excluded land identified by an environmental planning instrument,
- is within the foreshore area,
- is within the 25 ANEF conotour or a higher ANEF contour, unless the development is only for the erection of ancillary development, alteration or addition of ancillary development or the alteration of a dwelling house, or
- unsewered land to which the State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Drinking Water Catchment) 2011 applies, or in any other drinking water catchment identified in any other environmental or land that is declared to be a special area under the Sydney Water Catchment Management Act 1998.
The Housing Alterations Code and General Development Code must not be carried out on unsewered land to which State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Drinking Water Catchment) 2011 applies or in any other drinking water catchment identified by another environmental planning instrument.
Complying Development - Hurstville Council's Development Control Plan
If the same 'Complying Development' category is specified in the Codes SEPP as in Council's Development Control Plan , residents will have up until 1 Septemer 2011 to select whether they wish to lodge a Complying Development Application under the State or Council's Local codes.
Refer to Council's Development Control Plan for a comprehensive list of Complying Development Categories. The land based exemptions for Complying Development are outlined in Section 2.1.3 of Development Control Plan No.1 and Development Control Plan No.2.
A Complying Development Certificate:
- states that the proposed development will comply with all relevant development standards and requirements
- in the case of development involving erection of a building, identifies its classification, in accordance with the Building Code of Australia.
Applying for a certificate
If you are satisfied that your proposal complies with all the relevant development standards, you can lodge a 
Complying Development Certificate Application (35.32kB)with Hurstville City Council.
The onus is on the applicant to ensure the application is in full compliance with the appropriate development standards.
More information