Campbelltown City Council
Private building certifier in Wedderburn
Wedderburn is a high plateau of big bush lots, with the Georges River gorge below. We help owners plan houses, sheds and additions around bushfire, wastewater and slope rules from the very first sketch.
NSW 2560
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Rural living on the Wedderburn plateau
Large lots and separate houses
Wedderburn was once farmland and was later cut into rural-residential lots. In 2021, 665 people lived here, in 201 private dwellings. All 176 of the occupied homes counted were stand-alone houses. There were no semis or apartments. The state's Greater Macarthur growth area does not include the suburb. A main koala corridor heads north from here, following the Georges River.
Which plan governs your land
Most of the Campbelltown area falls under the council's 2015 LEP. Some land is still deferred matter, which means older instruments apply. These include the 2002 Campbelltown urban area LEP, the District 8 plan for the Central Hills Lands and an old interim order, number 15. Under those plans, certain non-urban zones set the smallest lot at 40 or 100 hectares. The parcel mapping tells you which plan applies.
Bushfire comes first
Council's plan says the asset protection zone, the cleared buffer around a house, must sit wholly on your own lot. Land next door, whether a Crown reserve, national park or private, cannot be counted unless the Rural Fire Service agrees. You will also need a bushfire report from a qualified consultant, and the design has to comply with the state's bushfire planning guide.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
With few homes and big lots, the jobs tend to fall into four groups:
- New rural homes. Fire exposure, how much effluent the land can take and distances to creeks usually fix the house position.
- Machinery sheds and outbuildings. On blocks this large, these can be big buildings.
- Additions. A bigger house may need a bigger cleared zone around it.
- Granny flats. Only where the zone permits one and the ground can absorb the extra wastewater.
Fencing on bushfire prone land must use non-combustible materials.
How approval usually works
Here, most new work needs a DA lodged with council, then a construction certificate. A CDC, a fast-track certifier approval, is rarely possible on deferred land or high bushfire risk sites. Lots without sewer need a wastewater report written for that site. It must keep set buffers from creeks, wells and other waters. Design rules cover land up to 50 metres from a creek bank. Earthworks are limited to one metre of cut or fill, and batters can be no steeper than 2 across for every 1 up. Send the planning certificate, a contour survey and any bushfire report first. CertifiBuild then works through these constraints with you in order.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Wedderburn job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Wedderburn are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageCan neighbouring bushland form part of my Wedderburn fire buffer?
Only if the Rural Fire Service agrees. Under Campbelltown’s plan, the cleared buffer around a house, called an asset protection zone, must fit entirely inside your own boundaries. Bush next door, whether national park, a Crown reserve or someone else’s land, can’t count without that approval. On a Wedderburn block backing onto the Georges River gorge, this often pushes the house further from the view than owners expect. You will also need a bushfire report from a qualified consultant, and the design must comply with the state’s bushfire planning guide. Have that report done before you pick a house site.
Is a house permitted on my Wedderburn lot, and how can I tell?
Find out which planning instrument governs your parcel and the smallest lot it allows for a house. Most of Campbelltown falls under the council’s 2015 local environmental plan (LEP), but some Wedderburn land is still deferred matter, run by older plans written before 2015. Some of those non-urban zones set minimums of 40 or 100 hectares. Read this from the parcel mapping or your planning certificate before paying for design, since it tells you if a house can go there at all.
How far must a septic system be from water on a Wedderburn block?
Council’s buffers for an on-site system are 250 metres from a household bore, 100 metres from permanent creeks or dams, and 40 metres from any other water. Every unsewered Wedderburn lot needs a wastewater report written for that site, confirming these distances and how much effluent the land can absorb. On a block near the gorge, the buffers can end up fixing where the house sits. Extra design rules reach 50 metres back from a creek bank, and earthworks can’t cut or fill more than one metre. Commission the wastewater report alongside the contour survey, before the layout is set.
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.