Supporting service
Preliminary Complying Development Assessment
A preliminary assessment checks whether your proposal can use the complying development pathway before you lodge. You find the issues early, when they are cheap to fix, rather than at determination.
Overview
Complying development is prescriptive: a proposal either meets every standard in the applicable code or it does not. A preliminary assessment reviews your concept against the relevant code in the Codes SEPP, together with the site's controls and mapping, and tells you in writing whether the CDC pathway is realistically available.
Where the proposal can comply, we set out what a complete application will need. Where it cannot, we identify the specific standards not met and explain the options, either a design change or the development application alternative, so you can decide before committing to a full documentation set.
What’s involved
Eligibility check
Zoning, minimum lot requirements, and whether the site is excluded by mapping such as heritage, bushfire or flood.
Standards review
Your concept measured against the key development standards: height, setbacks, floor space and site coverage.
Written summary
A plain-language note of any issues found and what a compliant application will require.
Pathway recommendation
A clear view on whether to proceed as CDC, amend the design, or use a development application.
When you need it
- Before you buy a site, to understand what it can yield.
- Before committing to a full documentation set.
- When you are unsure whether a project qualifies for complying development.
Frequently asked
Is a preliminary assessment the same as lodging a CDC?
No. It is an early review to confirm eligibility and identify issues before you lodge. It does not approve anything. It tells you whether, and how, the CDC pathway can work for your project.
Ready to get started?
Thinking about a CDC?
Send your concept and the site address. We will confirm whether complying development is realistically available before you commit.
We respond to enquiries within one business day.