Development Application Process for Residential Builds in WA

What it is

A development application in Western Australia is the formal request for planning approval to develop or change the use of land. The decision sits with the local government, the Western Australian Planning Commission, or a Development Assessment Panel, depending on the project scale and the relevant scheme. The legal scaffolding is the Planning and Development Act 2005 (WA), the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 and the State Planning Policy 7.3 Residential Design Codes, known as the R-Codes.

A development approval is not the same as a building permit. The development approval covers what can be built on the land. The building permit, issued under the Building Act 2011 (WA), covers how the building is constructed. Most residential projects in WA need both.

The R-Codes and local schemes

The R-Codes are the state-wide rules for residential design. They set deemed-to-comply standards across site coverage, setbacks, open space, building height, parking, plot ratio for grouped and multiple dwellings, and minimum lot sizes per density code. Volume 1 covers single and grouped dwellings. Volume 2 covers apartments and is the contested space where good design responses can replace the deemed-to-comply numbers with performance-based outcomes.

Each local government area carries a density code on its zoning map: R20, R30, R40 and so on. The number sets the minimum and average lot size, which in turn drives how many dwellings can be built on a site. The local planning scheme picks up the R-Codes by reference, which is why a project that hits all the deemed-to-comply standards under the R-Codes usually does not need a separate scheme assessment for the same matters.

When development approval is required

Some residential work is exempt from development approval under Schedule 2 of the Local Planning Schemes Regulations 2015. The list of exemptions includes:

• A single house and ancillary work that meets all R-Code deemed-to-comply standards in a Residential zone
• A patio, carport or shed below the size and setback triggers in the deemed provisions
• Internal works that do not change the use
• A swimming pool that meets the pool fencing rules and is more than the prescribed distance from the boundary

If any deemed-to-comply standard is missed, or if the site sits in a special control area, heritage area, bushfire-prone area or foreshore reserve, the exemption falls away and a development application is required. The scheme can also impose its own approval triggers on top of the R-Code rules.

Grouped dwellings, multiple dwellings, second dwellings on a single lot and any subdivision-linked development almost always require development approval, even when the design meets every standard.

Decision-maker by project size

For a single house, the decision is usually made by the local government CEO or a delegated officer under Schedule 2 of the Local Planning Schemes Regulations 2015. For larger residential proposals above the threshold set in the Planning and Development (Development Assessment Panels) Regulations 2011, the relevant Development Assessment Panel takes the decision. Section 171A of the Planning and Development Act 2005 (WA) gives DAPs their decision-making power over prescribed development applications. Some matters of state planning significance go to the Western Australian Planning Commission.

How the DA process runs

A typical local government development application follows a clear sequence:

1. Pre-lodgement enquiry with the council planner to check zoning, overlays and likely conditions
2. Lodgement of the application with plans, written justification and the prescribed fee through the relevant council portal
3. Local government acknowledgement and request for further information if anything is missing
4. Public advertising where the scheme requires consultation with neighbours or affected landowners
5. Officer assessment against the R-Codes, the local planning scheme and any state policy
6. Decision by delegation, by full council or by the relevant panel
7. Determination notice with approval, approval subject to conditions, or refusal

Applicants can ask the State Administrative Tribunal to review a council, DAP or WAPC decision, or a condition imposed on an approval, under section 251 of the Planning and Development Act 2005 (WA). An application for review must be lodged with SAT within 28 days of the date the decision is notified. The Tribunal can affirm, vary or set aside the decision and substitute its own. Third parties (such as neighbours) generally have no right to apply for review of a DAP or WAPC decision in WA.

Pairing DA and building permit

The cleanest residential program runs the development application and the building permit application in sequence with overlap. Once the development approval issues, the structural engineer, energy assessor and building surveyor work on the building permit package. The building surveyor checks documentation against the National Construction Code and the Building Regulations 2012 (WA) before granting the building permit.

Where the design changes mid-build, an amendment to the development approval is often the right tool. The standard mechanism is an application to amend or cancel a development approval under clause 77 of Schedule 2 to the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015. Where a deemed-to-comply standard cannot be met, a performance-based design justification under the R-Codes is the path. Either way, builders should plan for both at the start, because finding a missing approval at frame stage is painful and expensive.