What is DA Form 1, and when is it Form 2?

DA Form 1 and Form 2 are the forms Queensland uses for a development application. DA Form 1 is the general form, for development assessed against the planning rules. Form 2 is for building work only, and it is usually lodged with a private certifier, or with the council where the council is the assessment manager for building work. Either way, a site plan goes with it.

What is DA Form 1 used for?

DA Form 1 carries the land, the applicant, the owner’s consent, the kinds of development and the assessment manager. It is the form for a material change of use, such as a dwelling where the zone asks for a planning decision, for reconfiguring a lot, and for operational work such as earthworks. Where building work is assessable against the council’s planning scheme, for example on a heritage or character overlay, that part usually goes on DA Form 1 too.

When is it Form 2?

When the application is for building work only, assessed against the building rules rather than the planning scheme. That covers most sheds, patios, carports, pools and houses that already sit within what the zone allows. The certifier is usually the assessment manager, and where the council has to agree to something first, such as a siting variation or building near a sewer main, that part is referred to the council on the same form before the approval is given. Some councils still certify building work themselves and take the form directly.

Can one job need both?

Yes. A shed in a character overlay, or a granny flat where the zone asks for a planning decision, can need a planning approval on DA Form 1 and a building approval on Form 2. The planning decision usually comes first. The post on getting council approval walks through that order, and the post on building within the state’s limits covers small work that goes ahead without either form.

Who lodges it?

The applicant, who can be the owner or someone acting with the owner’s consent, such as the builder, the supplier or a town planner. Councils take DA Form 1 through their own lodgement, and a certifier lodges the records of a building approval with the council afterwards. The post on applying yourself covers the owner’s path.

What goes with the form?

a site plan to scale, with the work and its distance to every boundary
the engineering for a kit, rated for the site’s wind
the lot and plan number and the owner’s consent
any report an overlay asks for, such as flood or bushfire

Reading it for your own lot

RapidSiteplan reads the council and building rules for your lot from its address, checks the design against them as you place it, lets you edit it as often as you like, and prints the site plan. Site plans and assessments in minutes. It shows the overlays mapped over your lot, which is the first sign of whether the job needs a planning decision as well as a building one.

Search your address, see how a shed or carport site plan is drawn, or read what we hold for Brisbane. Queensland councils are listed by name, and site plans by council covers the rest of Australia.

Common questions

What is DA Form 1, and when is it Form 2? DA Form 1 is the general form for a development application in Queensland, mostly lodged with the council. Form 2 is for building work only, usually lodged with a private certifier. A site plan goes with either.

Which development application form do I use for a shed? Usually Form 2, lodged with a certifier, because a shed is building work. Where an overlay or the zone asks for a planning decision on it as well, that part usually goes to the council on DA Form 1 first.

Do I lodge DA Form 1 or Form 2 with the council? DA Form 1 usually goes to the council as the assessment manager. Form 2 usually goes to a private certifier, or to the council where it certifies building work itself.