Site plans and approval in the ACT
Site plans and assessments in minutes, anywhere in the ACT, drawn over the real lot.
How approval works in the ACT
The ACT has no councils: development approval comes from the territory's planning authority, and building approval from a licensed building certifier. Many small structures are exempt development and need no development approval when they meet the exemption standards for the block, and some building work is exempt from building approval as well, each on its own list. Anything else needs a development application, assessed against the Territory Plan. The certifier and the planning authority read the site plan for where the structure sits on the block, its distance to each boundary and the building line, and how much of the block is covered. The block's size and zone decide how much can be built without approval, as per the Planning Act 2023 and the Territory Plan, with exemptions in the Planning (Exempt Development) Regulation 2023.
Drawing the plan
Type the property address, the lot’s real boundaries load from official land records in the ACT, and you place the structure over the aerial view. The plan prints to scale with boundary lengths, setback distances, a north arrow, a legend, a site coverage table and a title block, as the site plan for a development application or a building approval.
What a certifier in the ACT will ask you
Is the patio, shed or carport attached to the house?
Whether it fixes to the house changes how it is classified, and so what the certifier checks near the boundary. The sheet says which it is.
How close to the boundary can it go?
The distance to each boundary decides whether the work can stand where it is drawn or needs an application for a closer position, and close to a side or rear boundary the fire rules apply too. The sheet dimensions the distance from the structure to every boundary.
Is the lot in an overlay, and what is the zoning?
A flood, bushfire, heritage or character overlay can bring a planning approval on top of the building approval, and the zone decides which of the council’s rules apply. The mapped overlays are read at the lot as the structure goes on the plan.
Are there easements, sewer mains or other services?
Work near a sewer or water main goes to the asset owner before the certifier can sign it off, on a timeline of its own. Mapped easements and mains show on the lot as it loads.
Who gives the approval, and who draws the plan?
The certifier or the council gives the approval, and the site plan can come from the builder, the supplier, a drafter or the owner, as long as it is clear and to scale. A surveyor comes in where the position of a boundary on the ground has to be fixed.
How big is it, and how big is the lot?
The size and the height decide whether the structure needs building approval at all, and the council can add limits that step with the lot’s size. The sheet prints the lot’s area and the running total of site cover.
Is the patio a pergola, a louvred roof or a solid roof?
An open pergola and a roofed patio are treated differently near the boundary, and louvres that shut to shed water count as a roof. Roofed, it also adds to the site cover total on the sheet.
Is the carport open, or closed in?
How open the carport is changes whether it needs a fire rated wall near the boundary, and a roller door or a later enclosure reopens the question. A shed never takes the open carport exemption.
How big can a granny flat be, and how far from the house?
The council caps a granny flat’s floor area, and some councils also limit how far from the house it may stand. The sheet prints the floor area and dimensions the distance to the house.
How deep is the pool?
The depth decides whether the water needs a barrier, and the barrier has to be in place before the pool is filled. The barrier is what gets inspected, so the sheet shows where it runs and every gate with its swing.
How high can a retaining wall and a fence go?
Each takes its own height test, and a retaining wall carrying a fence has its own approval. Both heights go on the sheet for the certifier to read together.
The figures for your own lot are read in a minute, from its address.
Councils we hold facts for
Changes on the way
Rule changes announced for the ACT, its councils and the whole country, each with the page that says so and the day we read it.
In the next 90 days
Nothing due in the next 90 days that we know of.
Later
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National Construction Code 2025
NCC 2025 becomes mandatory; a development or works application lodged before 1 November 2026 keeps the choice of NCC 2022 until it expires
Source planning.act.gov.au, read
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ABCB Housing Provisions 2025 (with NCC 2025)
Source abcb.gov.au, read
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AS 1926.1:2024 Swimming pool safety barriers
NCC 2025 cites the 2024 edition for pool barriers, so it reaches each state that takes NCC 2025 without a variation; Western Australia keeps the 2012 edition for private pools
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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NCC 2025 Housing Provisions Part 10.8
Class 1a condensation: wall membrane vapour permeance now by climate zone including zones 1 and 3 for the first time, cavity mandatory in zones 6, 7 and 8, new roof space clause 10.8.4
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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NCC 2025 Housing Provisions Part 9.2
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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NCC 2025 Volume Two Part H6, Specification 42 and Housing Provisions Section 13
Energy and whole of home for a class 1a do not tighten: 7 stars and whole of home 60 stay, with small changes on overhangs and waffle pod slabs
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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NCC 2025 Volume Two Part H8
Livable housing for a class 1a is unchanged in substance
Source ncc.abcb.gov.au, read
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National Construction Code, residential pause
No residential changes to the NCC except essential safety and quality changes until mid 2029
Source treasury.gov.au, read
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National Construction Code, next edition
The edition after NCC 2025: the regular NCC 2028 moves back one year because of the pause on residential changes
Source abcb.gov.au, read
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No date yet
Planning (Missing Middle Housing) Amendment Bill 2026
Secondary residences may be built on single dwelling leases without a lease variation, and variations authorising one get a 10 working day pathway
Source planning.act.gov.au, read
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No date yet
AS 3959:2018 Construction of buildings in bushfire prone areas
The publisher lists the standard as pending revision; no new edition or draft is listed
Source store.standards.org.au, read
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No date yet
AS 4678-2002 Earth retaining structures
The publisher lists the standard as pending revision; no new edition or draft is listed
Source store.standards.org.au, read
What we changed in the ACT
The rules we hold for the ACT and its councils, each brought up to date from the page it names, the newest first.
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Rules
Read from Planning Regulation 2023
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Rules
Read from Planning Regulation 2023
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Rules
Read from Planning Regulation 2023
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Rules
Read from Planning Regulation 2023
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Rules
Read from Planning Regulation 2023
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Rules
Read from Planning Regulation 2023
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Rules
Read from Planning Regulation 2023
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Rules
Read from Planning Regulation 2023
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Rules
Read from NCC: ACT planning NCC page
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Rules for fences
Read from legislation.act.gov.au
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State rules
Read from legislation.act.gov.au
The sources we read for the ACT
44 sources read for the ACT, the newest on , each below with the day it was last read.
Planning schemes and codes
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No change
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ACT development controls index
No change
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ACT home swimming pool safety reforms, transition ends 1 May 2028
Changed since the read before
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ACT Planning Act 2023, ss 205 to 209
Changed since the read before
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ACT Territory Plan 2023, D08 Tuggeranong BAL figures
Changed since the read before
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Changed since the read before
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No change
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No change
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No change
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No change
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NCC: ACT NCC 2025 adoption release
No change
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No change
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No change
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Changed since the read before
Fees
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ACT planning resources index where the next financial year's fees booklets appear
Changed since the read before
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No change
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No change
Pages watched for changes on the way
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ACT Planning: major plan amendments
Changed since the read before
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ACT Planning: minor plan amendments
Changed since the read before
Building code
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ACT SBMP and BMS publication page
No change
Follow the ACT in a feed reader: www.rapidsiteplan.au/site-plan/act/feed.xml. Every council and state has one, listed on rule changes by council and state.
General information only, not building or legal advice: your certifier or council makes the approval decision.
Plans for the job
Questions people ask
Other states and territories