Ku-ring-gai Council
Private building certifier in Gordon
Gordon’s station area has been through three sets of planning rules since May 2024. Before you draw an addition, pool or granny flat, we check which rules cover your particular lot today.
NSW 2072
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Station, heritage and housing in Gordon
More flats than houses
Gordon was home to 8,795 residents in 3,625 private dwellings at the 2021 Census. Apartments made up 48.3% of occupied homes and separate houses 45.3%. Few Ku-ring-gai suburbs have more flats than houses. Our first question on any job is what type of building it is. Since June 2021, the Ku-ring-gai Local Environmental Plan 2015 has applied shire wide, after older local plans were folded into it.
Three frameworks in two years
The shire has four Transport Oriented Development, or TOD, precincts. Gordon is one, along with Roseville, Lindfield and Killara. In May 2024 the state applied TOD controls to land up to 400 metres from these stations. From 13 June 2025 no new applications could use them. Then on 14 November 2025 council's TOD Alternative was gazetted, and its maps appeared on the NSW Spatial viewer five days later. Applications lodged before the June 2025 cut-off kept the earlier controls.
Heritage streetscapes
Two kinds of heritage conservation area matter here: those within Gordon and those spanning its boundary with Killara. These areas protect the whole street, not just one house. Front fences, gardens and large trees may each contribute to why an area matters. A front fence or tree removal can therefore need more care than owners expect. Confirm the status before treating any street-facing change as minor, since it can change both the paperwork and the approval route.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
House owners in Gordon, whether in heritage streets or near the station, usually ask about:
- Additions at the rear or a new first floor. In a heritage area, how the addition looks from the street matters.
- Garages and carports. These sit close to the street, so heritage rules often apply.
- Pools and granny flats. Limits come from lot size, trees and bushfire mapping.
- Townhouses and semis. Party walls, common areas and fire separation can turn apparently internal work into something bigger.
- Dual occupancy. A CDC needs a lot of 1,015 square metres or more anywhere in the shire.
Apartment building work is Class 2, which falls outside our Class 1 and Class 10 scope.
How approval usually works
A certifier can issue a CDC, a fast-track approval, once every code standard is met. In Gordon that route is narrower than many expect. The state's low-rise and mid-rise housing rules exclude TOD sites, heritage items and bushfire prone land. Those exclusions also apply to a dual occupancy in the R2 zone. When a CDC is not possible, a DA goes to council and then a CC follows. Get current planning information for your lot first, since a neighbour may fall outside the precinct while your lot falls inside. CertifiBuild then gives you a straight answer on CDC eligibility, good news or not.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Gordon job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Gordon are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageDo the TOD rules still affect my Gordon property?
Possibly, depending on today’s mapping. Three rule sets have applied around Gordon station since May 2024. First came transport oriented development (TOD) controls set by the state, reaching 400 metres from the station. As of 13 June 2025 they were closed to new applications, although anything lodged earlier kept them. Next, council’s own alternative took legal effect, gazetted 14 November 2025, and its maps appeared on the NSW Spatial viewer five days later. Compare your address with the maps in force now, because a neighbour can fall outside the precinct while you fall inside.
Is a dual occupancy possible on my Gordon lot?
Only if every condition lines up. The lot must be zoned R2, sit outside bushfire mapping, not be a heritage item, and lie beyond the station precinct mapped for transport oriented development (TOD). A duplex via complying development certificate (CDC) also requires a site of 1,015 square metres or more, a shire-wide figure. If the lot passes those tests but the design misses a code standard, a development application (DA) to council is the alternative. Get current planning information for your Gordon address and tick off each point before you commission a duplex design.
How does a Gordon conservation area affect my renovation?
It safeguards how the entire streetscape looks, rather than single buildings. In Gordon’s conservation areas, including those that cross into Killara, front fences, gardens and large trees can carry real weight alongside the house itself. That means replacing a front fence, removing a tree or changing the facade may need more care, and a different approval, than you expect. Additions usually fare better at the rear, where they are less visible. Your planning certificate will show whether your street is covered, so check it before planning street-facing changes.
Building in this suburb?
Send us the address first.
We check the local maps for your lot, confirm the approval path and quote in writing.