Site plan for a DA or council application: how to get one

Draw it yourself, have a drafting service draw it, or, when the exact boundary matters, start from a licensed surveyor's work. Every council in Australia asks for a site plan with a building or development application, whether it goes in as a DA, a building permit or a council approval, and the format barely changes across the country: the lot from above, to scale, with what is there and what you want to build.

To check a particular block, type its address into RapidSiteplan: it reads the lot and the rules that apply there and checks the structure you place against them, in minutes.

What does every council application need on the site plan?

Lot boundaries with lengths and the lot & plan number
Every existing building on the property
The proposed structure, dimensioned, with setbacks to each boundary
A north arrow, scale (1:100 to 1:500) and the street name
Site coverage before and after, and a title block

What are the three ways to get one?

A drafting service: send your details and wait for the plan to come back. Ask how many changes are included, or have us draw it for you. A licensed surveyor: worth it when the exact legal boundary matters, such as building on the line. Or draw it yourself, by hand to scale or with site plan software that loads your real lot from official land records and keeps every change to scale.

Will council accept a site plan I drew myself?

Usually. Councils and certifiers generally accept a clear, accurate, to-scale site plan whoever drew it. What they check is the content: every boundary with its length, every distance from the new structure to a boundary, the north point and the scale. If your council publishes a checklist for the application, compare the sheet with it before you lodge.

What only your address can answer

The format is national. The numbers on it are not: the setbacks and site cover the rules set for a lot of your size and zone, any overlay mapped over the block, and the easements and services under it all come from the address.

RapidSiteplan reads your own block from its address: the boundaries, the buildings already on it, the rules that apply there and any overlay or easement, and checks what you plan to build against them on a scaled site plan.

The post on drawing a site plan from an aerial photo covers what the photo gets wrong.

Search your address to start. Site plans and assessments in minutes.

Sources: the siting rules a site plan is read against, by state, all read in September 2026: Queensland Housing Code (Qld); State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (NSW); Building Regulations 2018 (Vic); Planning and Design Code (SA); Residential Design Codes Volume 1 (WA); Tasmanian Planning Scheme, State Planning Provisions (Tas); Planning (Exempt Development) Regulation 2023 (ACT); NT Planning Scheme 2020 (NT). The post on DA and CDC fees in NSW covers how the fees are worked out. The post on what DA approval means covers what it allows and what comes after it.

Common questions

How do I get a site plan for council? Three ways: a drafting service, which usually charges for the drawing and again for each change; a licensed surveyor, when the exact boundary position matters; or drawing it yourself, by hand to scale or with site plan software that loads the lot from official records. Councils generally accept a clear, to-scale plan from any of them.

What does a council want on a site plan? Lot boundaries with lengths and the lot/plan number, existing buildings, the proposed structure dimensioned with setbacks to each boundary, north arrow, scale, site coverage and a title block.

Who can draw a site plan for council? Usually anyone. Councils and certifiers read the drawing, not the drawer’s title, so a clear, accurate, to-scale site plan is generally accepted whoever drew it. Some documents in a set do need a qualified person, such as engineering or a survey, and if your certifier asks for something specific, that request wins.