Category: Complying Development

At ES Design, our priority is to ensure that the process of building is a smooth, hassle-free and pleasant experience. In saying this, a few hurdles may arise when participating in a new build, depending on the land or property where construction is set to take place. One of these main hurdles is concerning approvals. 

When building a new home or participating in a major renovation, there are two ways in which you can have your plans for your build approved: 

1. A Development Application (DA)
2. Complying Development Certificate (CDC)

Both approvals are beneficial. However, the CDC proves worth delving into.

What is a Complying Development Certificate (CDC)?

In simple terms, a CDC is a planning and construction process approval that is issued by an authorised, private certifier, bypassing local councils, saving both time and money. 

A CDC is judged against a particular set of standards under NSW legislation, meaning the proposed building works comply very strictly with the relevant regulation and building legislation, with little to no room for leeway. 

To be issued a CDC, a project must follow and adhere to specific requirements prior to applying for one. These prerequisites include:

• All works involved in the development project must act under the Building Code of Australia.
• Before any work can begin, a project in development must be permissible with consent in the land zone. This can be determined under the relevant council’s Local Environmental Plan.
• Complying development does not override private covenants or similar legal instruments, suggesting that a covenant that may necessitate a particular construction material or limit building heights must continue to apply to the land.

A Quick Checklist:

Whether a development is approved or not depends on numerous factors, such as site restrictions, which need to be considered and checked at the beginning of the assessment process. This extensive check could either prohibit or permit the application as a Complying Development. The following is a list of standard requirements for any CDC:

• Planning Certificate: a legal document that confirms the zoning and applicable rules for the development of a property
• Title Search
• Water Authority Check
• Home Builders Insurance or Owner/Builder Permit
• Tree removal approval
• Long Service levy
• Site survey
• Designer/architects plans
• Engineers plans
• Pest control certificate
• BAL (Bushfire Attack Level) certificates for fire-prone areas
• Smoke alarm certificate
• Pest control certificate
• Pool and fencing approval
• Site management plan

Who can help with your application submission? 

The process of obtaining a CDC is not a simple one and can be daunting, lengthy and overwhelming, especially if you are not familiar with or knowledgeable in the industry. 

To acquire a CDC, get in touch with the ES Design team. We can assist with organising and submitting applications on your behalf, completing all relevant paperwork and documentation, and guaranteeing that your project’s essentials and prerequisites are supported and administered.

Contact us today to find out more.

In our articles, we’ve touched on two extremely important and necessary elements for your development – the Complying Development Certificate and Development Approval. However, we haven’t explored another integral piece of documentation needed to begin construction, the Construction Certificate (CC). In this article, we’ll expand on everything you need to know about the CC, including why it’s key for materialising your plans and how you can acquire them.

First, what is a Construction Certificate?

If you haven’t figured it out yet, a CC is needed to begin construction on your development. The certificate confirms that the construction plans and development specifications for your building design are consistent with the development consent outlined by the private certifier or council authority. It also confirms that the plans and specifications comply with the Building Code of Australia and any other specific council requirements (e.g. height restriction for your council area).

The CC also ensures that:

• the conditions of the development consent that have to be complied with are met;
• security listed as a condition of consent is provided;
• monetary contributions that are needed as a condition of consent, have all been paid
• structural strength and fire safety matters are met (this occurs with alterations to an existing structure);
• the application has also been referred to the New South Wales Fire Brigade and that all issues raised have been taken into consideration or rectified

Is a CC mandatory?

Yes! If you plan on carrying out any type of building or construction work, a CC is necessary, Please note that development consent does not take the place of a CC. You cannot begin construction with solely development consent, you must acquire a CC.

The term “building work” is quite vague and does not give specific insight into when a CC is needed. According to NSW Fair Trading, residential building work refers to any work involved in constructing a dwelling, or altering or adding to a dwelling. It also includes repairing, renovating, applying a protective treatment to a dwelling. Therefore, if your scope of work falls into the above, then you must acquire a CC before you begin your project.

This is not to say that there are no exemptions to the rule. Like exempted developments do not need consent, some projects/works do not require a CC. This information can be found in the SEPP- State Environmental Planning Policy. There are many exemptions listed in this policy, however, if you are uncertain whether or not your project requires a CC, speak with a private certifier or your local council. For building works, feel free to get in touch with the ES Design team.

When do you have to apply for a Construction Certificate?

The timeline for applying for a CC is quite simple, however, you should bear in mind that you cannot apply for a CC before you have development consent. You can do either one of the following two options:

Apply for your CC after you have received development consent

Apply for your CC while you wait for your CDC or DA

With this option, your CC will only be issued after your project has received development consent. With regards to time, it does not make your CC progress any faster.

How do you apply for a CC?

Now that we have established a timeline for when you should apply for your CC, let’s take a look at how you should apply for it.

For a CC, you must apply to either your local council or an accredited certifier working in the private sector.

To apply for a CC, you will need to:

hold an approved development consent issued by your local council (or have it be in progress)

have met all the requirements and conditions that your local council placed upon your development consent

provide details of the work that you’d like to carry out for your projects. This may include technical specifications (e.g. contract requirements, descriptions of the quality required for certain works, product details, references to Australian Standards) and construction plans for the development (e.g. the method of construction, the structural system, the wall, floor and roof materials, the internal finishes for kitchens, bathrooms and other built-in joinery). Note: these documents may differ depending on the types of work that you want to carry out.

Once you have applied, it should take between 5 and 7 working days for your CC to be issued.

A CC is integral to beginning building works on your project. To acquire a CC, development consent is needed. If you’re familiar with regulations around the building, then you should know that getting development consent can be tricky and overwhelming. This is where the ES Design team can help. We will organise and submit applications for DA or a CDC, ensuring you have the best chance at success.

How long do Construction Certificate (CC), Complying Development Certificate (CDC) and Developing Application (DA) approvals last? This is a question that is integral to the construction timeframe of any type of project. It’s well-known that construction on projects that require approvals cannot begin until approval has been granted. However, approvals also have a time limit. If your project does not start for a few months, you may want to find out about the lifetime of different approvals.

Why is it important to find out how long different approvals last?

Contrary to popular belief, acquiring approval is not the end of the process. We know that most of our clients are not aware of the time limitations on approvals. For cases where we think the lifetime of the approval may be in jeopardy, we ensure that they are aware of the limitations and advise them to delay the application for the approval.

There are many different reasons why knowing the lifetime of approvals is important. Here are a few:

• You may mistakenly commence construction without having a valid CC.
• You risk losing money having to restart the entire application process.
• You can further delay your project while you wait for a second approval to go through.
• You may encounter difficulty securing insurance for an unapproved build.
• Your prospect of sales may be rescinded as potential buyers will be less likely to be interested in a build that is not immune from future legal challenges.
• Your sale and rent of the building may suffer from inferior marketability to a lack of proper approval.
• Your chances of obtaining an Occupation Certificate (OC) will be severely reduced. This is considered an offence under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act)
• Your local council can issue a notice of intent or order for the demolition of the unauthorised building.

These are just a few of the reasons why knowing the lifetime of your approvals is important. Even if you unknowingly begin construction on a building without proper approval, the consequences will remain the same.

What are the time limitations for the different consents and certificates?

The CC, CDC and DA all have different time limitations. Let’s take a look at what they are.

Developing Consent

Designs and works approved in the Development Consent must be commenced within a period of five (5) years from the date that was identified as the commencement date in the application. The lapse date will be shown on the consent. If your Development Consent is modified, the commencement and lapse dates will not be altered from what was originally given.
Remember that developing consent only approves your works and does not allow you to begin construction.

Construction Certificate

Any work that is approved in the Construction Certificate must commence before the lapse date on the Development Consent but after the commencement date, irrespective of when the Construction Certificate was approved. This is because a Construction Certificate can only be valid for the same duration as the preceding Development Consent. Therefore, they will both expire at the same time.

Complying Development Certificate

Works approved in the Complying Development Certificate must start within a period of five (5) years from the date shown as the commencement date. The lapse date will be shown on the certificate.
Though the commencement and lapse date will be clearly shown on the above documents and certificates, it’s easy to forget through the duration of the approval.

Who is at risk for jeopardising the lifetime of their approvals?

After reading the lifetimes of each approval, some clients may wonder who may be at risk of allowing their approval to expire. While most homeowners can begin their construction within the stipulated time, many major developers are subject to significant delays from suppliers, board members, investors and clients can have a project drag on for years.
Clients who want to build properties on land that may be tied up in court are also often at risk of having their approval expire. When land is at the centre of a legal battle, no construction can take place. Sometimes, it can take years to resolve – depending on how complex the issue is. In these circumstances, owners of the property are at risk.
Another issue that may occur that has only become relevant in the last year is if a major event or disaster occurs. COVID-19 has made an impact on many construction projects, including causing significant delays for a variety of reasons.
We hope that our information on the expiration of different approvals was insightful. As you can see, there are severe consequences for building without proper consent, certificates and approvals. When you work with ES Design, we ensure that you are aware of your lapse dates and advise you on the optimal times to lodge your applications.