What is exempt development in NSW?

Exempt development is minor building work that New South Wales lets you carry out without a development application or a certificate, as long as it meets every standard the state sets for that kind of work. The list covers common jobs such as sheds, decks, patios, pergolas, carports and fences. Miss one standard and the work is no longer exempt, so it moves to a complying development certificate or a development application.

What does exempt development mean in practice?

Nobody checks the work before it starts. The state has decided that small work inside set limits does not need assessing, so meeting every standard falls to the owner and the builder, and the council can act later if the work turns out to miss one.

What do the standards test?

Each kind of structure has its own list, and the same ideas recur:

its size, which can depend on the zone and the size of the lot
its height above the existing ground, and how high a deck floor sits
its position behind the front of the house, and its distance from each boundary
its materials and colours, so it does not reflect at the neighbours
where the roof water goes
its structure, built to the building rules and designed for the site’s wind

The post on pergolas as exempt development walks through one structure, and the approval check gives a first read from the address and the size.

Does the land change the answer?

Yes. A heritage item, some heritage conservation areas and environmentally sensitive land can take the exemption away or add conditions, and bushfire prone land can ask for materials that do not burn close to the house. The council’s planning certificate for the lot lists most of these, and the zone it names decides several of the size limits. The exemption also leaves other consents alone, so a structure over an easement or a sewer main still needs its owner’s consent. The post on easements covers that.

What happens if the work misses a standard?

A near miss counts as a miss. A shed a little too tall is not partly exempt, because the whole structure moves to the next pathway. If it meets the complying standards, a registered certifier or the council can issue a certificate. If not, it goes to the council as a development application, followed by a construction certificate before building starts.

What should I keep for exempt work?

A scaled site plan, even though nothing is lodged. Show the boundaries, the house, the new structure with its size and height, and its distance to each boundary and the street.

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. Place the structure and the sheet gives the distances the standards test, with the overlays on the lot shown.

Search your address, see what the plan shows for a shed, carport or other outbuilding, or read what we hold for Campbelltown. New South Wales councils are listed by name, and site plans by council covers the rest of Australia.

Common questions

What is exempt development in NSW? It is minor building work the state lets you carry out without a development application or a certificate, as long as it meets every standard set for that kind of work. Miss one standard and it needs a complying development certificate or a development application instead.

Is there an exempt development certificate in NSW? No. Nothing is issued and nothing is lodged with the council. Keep the site plan, the supplier’s drawings and photos of the finished work, because together they are the record that the work met every standard.

What is the exempt development code? It is the common name for the part of the state’s planning rules listing the minor work that can go ahead this way, with the standards for each kind.