How do I lodge a PlanSA development application?

You lodge a development application in South Australia online through PlanSA, the state’s planning portal. You create an account, answer questions about the site and the work, and upload your plans. The portal sends the application to the authority that assesses it, which checks it is complete and sets the fees. An owner can lodge it, or a builder or designer can lodge it for you.

What is development approval in South Australia?

It is the whole package. Most work needs planning consent, which asks whether the work suits the land, and building consent, which asks whether it will be built properly. Development approval is issued once the consents the work needs are in place, and only then can work start. Some minor work is not development at all, and accepted development skips the planning assessment but still takes building consent.

What are the steps?

check what the state’s planning rules say for the address, including the zone and overlays
answer the portal’s questions, which place the work on an assessment pathway
upload the site plan, the elevations and anything else the pathway asks for
wait while the authority verifies the application and asks for anything missing
pay the fees it sets, which start the assessment
receive the planning consent, then seek building consent where it is separate
receive development approval, and tell the council before work starts

The post on site plans for a council application lists what the plan carries.

Who assesses the application?

The relevant authority for that kind of work. It can be the council, its assessment manager or panel, an accredited professional for work that meets fixed standards, or a state body for larger proposals. Building consent can come from the council or an accredited professional.

Will the neighbours be told?

Sometimes. Some pathways bring public notice, which can mean a sign on the land and letters to adjoining owners, with a period for written comment. Work that meets the fixed standards usually avoids it. The authority tells you when notice applies.

What is the public register?

The state keeps a register of development applications that anyone can search. It shows what has been lodged and where it has reached. The post on planning applications near you covers the same search in other states.

What should I sort out before lodging?

The site plan is what most often holds an application up, because the verifying officer needs the boundaries, the existing buildings and the distances to them. Heritage, bushfire or flood overlays can add a report, so read those first. The post on applying yourself covers the general process.

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. For a lot in South Australia it shows the overlays and the distance to each boundary, and the printed sheet is ready to upload to the portal.

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

Common questions

How do I lodge a PlanSA development application? Create an account on the state’s planning portal, answer its questions about the site and the work, and upload your plans. The portal sends the application to the authority that assesses it, which confirms what it needs and sets the fees. You can lodge it yourself or have your builder do it.

Who decides once I lodge on PlanSA? The relevant authority for that kind of application, which can be the council, its assessment panel, an accredited professional or a state body.

What is the PlanSA register? It is the state’s public register of development applications, which you can search to see what has been lodged and where it has reached. The portal also lists applications out for public notice.