Complying development certificates in NSW

Which code covers my house?

State planning policy is split into several codes. The ones that matter most for houses and outbuildings are: Housing Code, Low Rise Housing Diversity (LRHD) Code, Rural Housing Code, Greenfield Housing Code and Inland Code. Each one sets its own design limits.

In zones R1 to R4 and RU5, the Housing Code covers new houses up to two storeys, renovations and extensions, plus garages, sheds and similar structures. Land zoned rural relies on the Rural Housing Code. The Inland Code is limited to a listed group of inland council areas and covers new homes, renovations and larger farm buildings.

Under the LRHD Code, duplexes, terraces and manor houses are possible in zones R1 to R3 and RU5, provided council's local plan already permits that kind of housing. Duplexes and terraces may be Class 1 buildings. Manor houses place one dwelling above another, which puts them outside Class 1.

Is my land excluded?

On excluded land, no CDC is possible however compliant the design. Excluded land includes heritage items, sites covered by an interim heritage order, critical habitat, wilderness, environmentally sensitive areas, foreshore areas, land reserved for public use, and land where aircraft noise reaches 25 ANEF or more. Heritage conservation areas are restricted too, with limited exceptions.

If the site is bush fire prone, the CDC route closes when the rating is BAL-FZ or BAL-40. This is usually confirmed by a BAL certificate issued by council or by an accredited bushfire consultant. The codes include separate standards for flood-affected lots. Land that is excluded needs a development application (DA) to council instead.

Do the neighbours get told?

For metropolitan lots, neighbours whose land is within 20 metres must receive written notice from the council or certifier no less than 14 days before the CDC is determined. It can be delivered by hand, dropped in the letterbox or sent by post. If a nearby lot contains several dwellings, every occupier is notified. Neighbours can request the plans, but there is no obligation to share them.

In new release areas and most regional and rural areas, there is no formal notice requirement before approval. After the CDC is granted, neighbours within 20 metres must also get written notice from you before any work begins. In metropolitan areas give them 7 days or more, or 2 days in regional, rural and release areas.

How long is the process?

The NSW Planning Portal says an application that meets every requirement can be approved in as little as 20 days. Where the 14-day neighbour notice applies, the CDC cannot issue until that period ends. Missing documents or requests for more information add time. Check the code and exclusions first to avoid paying for an application that cannot succeed.

Lodging through the Planning Portal

Every complying development certificate (CDC) application is lodged on the NSW Planning Portal, and the person lodging needs their own Portal account. Use the same email address for the account and for the applicant contact details, because the Portal sends its automatic messages to that address. If you do not own the land, you must enter contact details for every owner and confirm that you hold their consent.

Fees and terms are not set inside the Portal. They are agreed directly with the certifier, and a certification contract has to be in place before any certification work begins. Submitting the online form does not create that contract. If a certifier declines an application, the Portal lets you copy it and send it to a different certifier rather than starting again.

A state housing and productivity contribution can apply to new housing in four regions: Greater Sydney, Illawarra Shoalhaven, the Central Coast, and Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle. Where one applies, the certifier advises the amount payable.

Approvals a CDC does not cover

A CDC approves the building work on your lot, but some related work needs a separate approval from another body. These are easy to overlook because they sit outside the code assessment.

Driveways, crossovers and kerb work may need council consent (Roads Act 1993, s 138), or Transport for NSW approval where the road is classified. On-site stormwater and effluent systems need council approval too (Local Government Act 1993, s 68). Where a tree must be removed or pruned and a permit or consent is required, that has to be obtained before the CDC can be issued.

In Greater Sydney, water and sewer matters are dealt with by Sydney Water. Lots inside a mine subsidence district also need sign-off from Subsidence Advisory NSW. Sorting these out early keeps them from holding up the start of work.

When does a CDC expire?

A CDC does not stay open indefinitely. The same five-year period that applies to a development consent also covers CDC work, so the work has to be physically commenced within that time or the approval lapses.

Council guidance on the five-year rule says that survey work, such as placing pegs, does not count on its own, and unlawful work is not accepted as a start. The legislation does not allow the period to be extended.

If a project may sit idle while finance or a builder is arranged, keep the lapse date in view. A lapsed CDC means a new application, assessed against whatever standards and building code edition apply at that later date.

Pattern book homes as complying development

Since 30 July 2025, designs from the NSW Housing Pattern Book can be approved as complying development under a Pattern Book Development Code added to the state policy commonly called the Codes SEPP. The low-rise patterns cover dual occupancies, terraces, multi-dwelling housing and manor houses in zones R1, R2 and R3, where council's local plan already permits that housing type.

This pathway has its own exclusions. Bush fire prone land, flood control lots, battle-axe lots, lots that already have a secondary dwelling, unsewered land and building over a registered easement all rule it out. Only the features each pattern lists as adaptable can be changed.

A design verification statement from an accredited designer or architect must be lodged with the application, and site-specific structural and stormwater engineering is still required. Once all information is supplied, the CDC must be determined within 10 days, and neighbours get at least 7 days' notice first. Manor houses stack one dwelling over another, which takes them outside Class 1, so they need a differently registered certifier.

Proposed variations to CDC standards

Right now the CDC test has no give in it. Fail a single standard and the application has to switch to the development application (DA) route. A proposal to soften this went on public exhibition in May 2026, with submissions closing on 24 June 2026.

Under the proposal, councils could approve minor departures from some standards, such as setbacks, without a full DA, by issuing a variation certificate. A council would have 10 calendar days to assess a variation referred by a certifier, or 20 days where it also assesses the CDC. A variation not decided in time would be treated as approved.

The proposal is listed as under consideration and is not yet law. Until it is made, a CDC application still has to meet every standard in full.