Site plans and approval in South Australia
Site plans and assessments in minutes, anywhere in South Australia, drawn over the real lot.
How approval works in South Australia
In South Australia development approval brings together planning consent, against the Planning and Design Code, and building consent, against the building rules, both applied for through the PlanSA portal. Some small structures are not development at all and need neither. Others are accepted development, which needs building consent but no planning assessment; deemed-to-satisfy development gets planning consent when it meets the Code's standards; and performance assessed development is weighed on its merits. The council, or an accredited professional such as a private certifier, issues each consent. The assessor reads the site plan for the structure's size, its distance to each boundary and how much of the lot is covered. The zone and the overlays on the lot decide the pathway, as per the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 and the Planning and Design Code.
Drawing the plan
Type the property address, the lot’s real boundaries load from official land records in South Australia, 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 approval.
What a certifier in South Australia 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 South Australia, 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, Building Code
The Building Code within NCC 2025 replaces NCC 2022 Amendment 2
Source plan.sa.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
State-wide Bushfire Hazards Overlay Code Amendment
One Hazards (Bushfire) Overlay with high, medium and general levels, and a designated BAL 12.5 in general areas and in the outback overlay
Source yoursay.sa.gov.au, read
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No date yet
State-wide Flood Hazard Code Amendment
New flood hazard mapping and policy in the Planning and Design Code, and map updates by the Minister without a full amendment
Source yoursay.sa.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 South Australia
The rules we hold for South Australia and its councils, each brought up to date from the page it names, the newest first.
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Rules
Read from legislation.sa.gov.au
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Rules
Read from legislation.sa.gov.au
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Rules
Read from legislation.sa.gov.au
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Rules
Read from legislation.sa.gov.au
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Rules
Read from legislation.sa.gov.au
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Rules
Read from legislation.sa.gov.au
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Council rules
Read from plan.sa.gov.au
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Council rules
Read from westtorrens.sa.gov.au
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Council rules
Read from salisbury.sa.gov.au
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Exempt sizes
Read from SA PDI Regulations 2017 Schedule 4
The sources we read for South Australia
17 sources read for South Australia, 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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No change
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NCC: PlanSA Building Code page
No change
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NCC: PlanSA NCC 2025 state updates
No change
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PlanSA ancillary accommodation FAQ
No change
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SA Community Titles Act 1996, ss 34, 102
No change
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SA PDI Regulations 2017 Schedule 4
Changed since the read before
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No change
Fees
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PlanSA fees and charges at a glance
No change
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No change
Standards
Follow South Australia in a feed reader: www.rapidsiteplan.au/site-plan/sa/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