Shellharbour City Council
Private building certifier in Tullimbar
In Tullimbar village, CertifiBuild certifies new houses, granny flats, garages, patios and pools. Before choosing a design, owners first need the building and access guidelines tied to their own lot.
NSW 2527
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Tullimbar village: every lot has its own paperwork
A village with its own appendix
Shellharbour's Development Control Plan (DCP, council's detailed design rules) has a dedicated Tullimbar appendix. Its site-specific rules override general DCP advice where the two clash. The land it covers spans several zones and two local environmental plans, from 2000 and 2013. Some deferred land also needs another DCP chapter read alongside it. So check the map and instrument for your own lot. The village does not share one zoning story.
Planned for variety
Most homes are freestanding houses, but the village was planned with a range of lot types. The plan includes back lanes, park-facing lots and several kinds of housing. That is why the shape of your particular lot matters before you pick a front garage, a fence line or a backyard structure.
Small lots, set envelopes
Every lot under 450 square metres is covered by Building Access Guidelines. These fix the building envelope, parking and vehicle access, and are meant to be noted in subdivision and title papers. Council also publishes village-wide and stage-by-stage design guidelines.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Since Tullimbar is still a new village, much of our work comes after a home is first built. Common projects include:
- New homes, designed inside the lot's set envelope and access point.
- Pools, patio roofs and courtyard upgrades that keep the planned outdoor space usable.
- Garages and carports, including those reached from rear lanes, kept within the lot's set parking position.
- Granny flats and studios over rear garages, where the lot papers and planning rules support them.
For a back studio, state plainly what it will be used for. A sketch in sales material does not approve a second dwelling.
How approval usually works
Start with documents, not designs. Get your subdivision and title papers, any Building Access Guidelines and the guideline version for your stage. The envelope, parking spot or older guideline next door might not match yours. Nor is the 450 square metre threshold an area-wide minimum lot size. Then pick the statutory route. A CDC (fast-track approval under state rules) is only open where your land and design meet its criteria. Otherwise a development application (DA) goes through council's planning assessment, followed by a construction certificate. A village guideline alone never approves a future pool or granny flat. CertifiBuild compares your lot documents with the approved house before you brief a designer, so expensive redesigns are less likely.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Tullimbar job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Tullimbar are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageDoes the Tullimbar appendix cover my whole lot?
Not necessarily, so compare the appendix map and land description with your actual lot. Tullimbar’s appendix in the Shellharbour development control plan (DCP) spans several zones and two local environmental plans, from 2000 and 2013, and some deferred land also needs another DCP chapter read alongside it. Where the appendix does apply, its site-specific rules override the general DCP if the two conflict, so getting its scope right matters. Older approvals may describe the zoning in outdated terms. Confirm today’s map and planning instrument for the block instead of reusing a rule lifted from an old approval nearby.
What do Building Access Guidelines mean for my Tullimbar home?
They fix where your house can sit, where cars park and how vehicles get onto a Tullimbar lot under 450 square metres. Each set of guidelines belongs to a specific lot and is meant to be noted in the subdivision and title papers, so get those documents before moving a garage, enclosing a patio or designing an addition. The 450 square metre figure only triggers the guidelines; it isn’t the smallest lot allowed in Tullimbar. Your neighbour’s envelope, or an older guideline version, may differ from yours. If your lot has rear lane access, check that arrangement too.
Could my rear garage loft become a granny flat?
Maybe. Start by checking how the space will really be used, and what your lot papers say. An existing loft over a rear garage, or a sketch in sales material, does not give permission for a separate home. A granny flat must meet the secondary dwelling rules, and access, privacy and construction standards all have to line up with the approved village layout. Read your Building Access Guidelines and the design guidelines for your stage as well. Then pick the route: a complying development certificate (CDC) if the block and plans meet its standards, or else a development application (DA).
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.