Four phases to work through before you spend big on structural engineering and final construction drawings.

A Complying Development Certificate (CDC) is the quickest approval pathway in NSW. It rolls planning and building approval into one certificate that a registered certifier can sign off in days, rather than the months a full Development Application can take. But that speed comes with a condition attached: CDC is a black-and-white assessment against the provisions set out in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 — the document everyone calls The Codes SEPP. Meet every standard and the certifier must approve it. Miss one and the project drops back to a full DA.

That’s the whole reason this checklist exists. Run through these four phases before you commission engineering or pay for a final set of drawings. It’s a lot cheaper to find a deal-breaker now than after the engineer’s invoice has landed.

Phase 1: The Site & Land Constraints

Start with the land, because plenty of blocks are ruled out of CDC before a line is ever drawn. A land-based exclusion can’t be designed around — so it pays to know what you’re working with on day one.

  • Order the Section 10.7(2) Certificate. This is the planning certificate you request from the local council. It confirms the zoning (R1, R2, R3 and so on) and, just as importantly, flags any land-based restriction that would knock the site out of CDC. If you want the fuller picture, ask for the 10.7(5) as well — it carries the additional advice councils hold on the land.
  • Check for exclusions. Heritage listings (state or local), critical habitat, environmentally sensitive land, foreshore areas and the like will all rule out complying development. If the lot is excluded, CDC is off the table no matter how good the design is — so confirm this early.
  • Verify bushfire and flood risk. On bushfire-prone land, CDC is only available up to BAL-29. Anything assessed at BAL-40 or Flame Zone has to go through a DA. You’ll need a BAL Certificate from a recognised bushfire consultant before lodging. Flood-prone land needs a flood certificate. Check whether the block is bushfire-prone using the NSW Rural Fire Service mapping and guidance.
  • Get a registered property survey. Have a registered surveyor mark the exact boundaries and the land’s slope contours. This isn’t a nice-to-have — slope directly affects your height calculation and your earthworks, and an accurate survey now heads off the boundary and level arguments that surface later.

Phase 2: Design & Numerical Thresholds

This is where CDC is won or lost. These aren’t guidelines you can argue around the edges of — they’re absolute limits, and the certifier has no discretion to wave a near-miss.

  • Building height. The total height must stay under the residential limit — generally 8.5m under the Housing Code — measured from the existing ground level before any earthworks. Sloping sites are where this catches people out, so check it against your survey, not the proposed finished level.
  • Setbacks. Front, side and rear distances have to match the Codes SEPP sliding scale tied to your lot size and frontage. The front setback is often pegged to the average of the two nearest dwellings, and side setbacks step out as the wall gets taller. Double-check every boundary against the Codes SEPP standards.
  • Landscaped area. A minimum percentage of green, pervious space has to be preserved, again scaled to lot size, with no landscaped strip narrower than 1.5m. This is the standard most often eroded when a design pushes for maximum floor area — keep an eye on it.
  • Earthworks. Keep proposed cut or fill to 1 metre or less. Go beyond that and you’ll generally trigger a geotechnical investigation, and you may well tip the project out of CDC altogether.

Phase 3: Infrastructure & Expert Sign-Off

The design can be spot-on and still get held up by what’s in the ground or on the title. This phase is about clearing those hurdles and getting a second set of expert eyes on the job before you commit to engineering.

  • Section 138 approval (Roads Act 1993). You’ll need this permit for any works within the public road reserve — a new driveway, a crossover, or kerb works. It’s a separate approval from the CDC, and it’s easy to overlook. (While you’re at it, works involving water, sewer or stormwater connections will usually need a Section 68 approval under the Local Government Act too — your local council’s CDC page, like Eurobodalla’s, sets out which apply.)
  • Easements. Confirm the building footprint doesn’t sit over a water, sewer, drainage or electrical easement. Building over or near a sewer main is its own approval process with the relevant authority, and the survey plus your 10.7 certificate will usually reveal what’s running under the site.
  • Book a certifier pre-assessment. Hand your survey and concept sketches to a registered certifier for a quick sanity check before you finalise engineering. We’ll be straight with you here — this is the cheapest insurance you can buy on a CDC. A short conversation now can save a costly redraw later.
  • Secure final engineering. Gather the structural details, and pay particular attention to the connection details if you’re doing an alteration or addition — that’s where existing and new structure meet, and it’s where engineers and certifiers look hardest. All building work must comply with the National Construction Code.

Phase 4: Final Lodgment

The last phase is administrative — but get a detail wrong here and your project will stall.

  • Pay the levies and sort the insurance.
    • The Long Service Levy is now payable only on works valued at $250,000 or more (including GST), charged at 0.25% — the threshold jumped from $25,000 and the rate dropped from 0.35% back on 1 January 2023, so older guidance still floating around is out of date. Pay it through the Long Service Corporation before the certificate is released.
    • Home Building Compensation (HBCF) insurance is required for residential building work of $20,000 or more (including GST). The builder needs a Certificate of Eligibility, then a Certificate of Insurance for the specific job, sorted before any work starts or any deposit is taken. Check the requirements with icare.
  • Submit via the NSW Planning Portal. Appoint your Principal Certifier and upload the complete certified package through the NSW Planning Portal to trigger the fast-tracked approval.

Not a CDC? We’ll find the path that works

If a site doesn’t fit neatly inside the Codes SEPP, that’s not the end of the road. Maybe a tweak to the design brings it back inside the standards, or maybe a DA is the smarter way to get where you want to go. Either way, working it out is exactly what we’re here for. Bring it to us early and we’ll map the clearest path forward and get it sorted.

Talk to us before you draw the line

Whether you’re a builder running a full pipeline of jobs or a homeowner planning your first build, the same principle applies: the earlier a certifier looks at it, the smoother the approval. We’ve been certifying across the Illawarra and South Coast for 25 years — from first homes to large-scale developments — and we’d far rather have a ten-minute conversation at the concept stage than untangle a problem after the engineering’s done.

Get in touch with Bacchus Partners and we’ll tell you exactly where your project stands.