Building certifiers across 39 NSW council areas

The quickest check is your council rates notice, which shows the council that levies the property. Another option is to search the address on the NSW Planning Portal, where the council name appears alongside the zoning and planning maps for the lot. Some suburbs are split between councils, so the suburb alone can mislead. Paddington and Newtown, for example, each sit across two council areas. With the council confirmed, open its page here to see the local controls that most often affect homes and outbuildings.

It can. The complying development codes are state rules, so the standards are the same in every council area. What differs is the land itself. Each council maps things like bushfire risk, flooding and heritage, and some of these can rule a lot out of complying development or add extra requirements. Where that happens, a development application (DA) to council becomes the route. Council's planning certificate lists the constraints on your lot, so read it first, before assuming a CDC is possible.

A planning certificate is a document from council that shows how your lot is zoned and which planning rules and hazards affect it, such as bushfire, flooding or heritage. It is a standard part of a complying development certificate (CDC) application and helpful on any project, since it shows whether complying development can be used on that land. You order it from the council for your area. We ask for a current copy at the start so the approval route is settled before drawings are finalised.

Yes, in what each can decide. Development applications (DAs) are determined only by council. A registered private certifier can issue complying development certificates (CDCs), construction certificates and occupation certificates, and can serve as principal certifier carrying out inspections, as council can for that work. Private certifiers hold registration with Building Commission NSW, which supervises them, and they must stay impartial even though the applicant pays their fee. In the 39 council areas listed here, we can take on that certifier role for Class 1 and Class 10 work, while each council keeps its DA, enforcement and building information certificate functions.

Possibly. The 39 councils on this page are where we usually work, but an address outside them may still be considered for Class 1 or Class 10 work. Send the site address, the council name and a short outline of what you plan to build, and we will let you know in writing whether we can take the job. Please note that The Hills Shire is outside our service area, so projects there need a different certifier. If we cannot help, you can search the Building Commission NSW register for another registered certifier.