A Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) is the written planning report that accompanies a development application (DA) in NSW. It describes the site and the proposal, checks the design against the zoning, the local environmental plan (LEP), the development control plan (DCP) and any relevant state policies, and explains the likely impacts and how they are managed. You need one whenever you lodge a DA with a council for local development, which covers new houses, alterations and additions, dual occupancies, granny flats, townhouses and subdivisions. You do not need one for exempt development or for complying development handled by a certifier.
Key takeaways
- The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 requires most DAs for local development to be accompanied by a Statement of Environmental Effects.
- The SEE addresses the matters a consent authority must consider under section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
- Complying development certificates (CDCs) issued under the Codes SEPP do not need a SEE, but the project must meet every development standard in the relevant code.
- Large or sensitive projects, such as designated development, need an environmental impact statement instead of a SEE.
The SEE in plain terms
Think of the SEE as the case for your application. The drawings show what you want to build. The SEE explains why it is permissible, how it measures up against the rules, and why the impacts on neighbours, the street and the environment are acceptable. A council planner in Blacktown, Parramatta, Liverpool or Penrith reads it alongside the plans, survey and specialist reports, and uses it as the skeleton for their own assessment report.
There is no fixed template in the legislation. Schedule 1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 lists the SEE as a required document for most local development, and each council publishes its own lodgement checklist, so the expected content varies a little from Camden to Newcastle to Wollongong.
When a SEE is required and when it is not
The NSW planning system has several approval pathways, described on the NSW Planning approval pathways page. Only some of them involve a SEE.
| Pathway | Who assesses it | Is a SEE required? |
|---|---|---|
| Exempt development (small sheds, some fences, minor internal works) | Nobody, provided the standards are met | No |
| Complying development (CDC) under the Codes SEPP | Council or a private certifier | No, but full compliance with the code is mandatory |
| Local development (DA) for houses, duplexes, granny flats, townhouses, subdivision | Council, or a local planning panel for some applications | Yes |
| Integrated development (a DA that also needs another approval, for example under the Water Management Act 2000 or the Rural Fires Act 1997) | Council plus the relevant agency | Yes, with the extra approval addressed |
| Designated development (listed in Schedule 3 of the Regulation) | Council or a panel | No, an environmental impact statement is required instead |
For the residential projects our planners handle, the question usually comes down to DA or CDC. If the site and the design meet every standard in the Housing Code, the Low Rise Housing Diversity Code or the Greenfield Housing Code, a certifier can issue a CDC and no SEE is needed. The moment one standard is missed (a setback, a floor area, a lot width, a flood or bushfire trigger) the project moves into the DA pathway and a SEE becomes mandatory. Our DA or CDC pathway advice settles that question before drawings are finalised.
What goes into a Statement of Environmental Effects
A council-ready SEE for a house, duplex or granny flat generally runs through the following sections.
- Site description. Lot and DP, area, dimensions, orientation, slope, existing buildings, trees, easements and services, and what surrounds the site.
- Proposal description. What is being demolished, what is being built, floor areas, height, storeys, materials, landscaping, parking and access.
- Permissibility. The zone under the LEP (for example R2 Low Density Residential under Blacktown LEP 2015) and the land use table that makes the proposal permissible with consent.
- State policies. The SEPPs that apply, commonly State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022 for BASIX, State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 for secondary dwellings, State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021 for contamination, and State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 for vegetation.
- LEP development standards. Height of buildings, floor space ratio, minimum lot size, heritage, flood and other clauses, each with the numbers for the proposal against the standard.
- DCP controls. Setbacks, site coverage, landscaped area, private open space, solar access, privacy, parking, cut and fill, fencing and streetscape, with a compliance table and a written justification for any departure.
- Section 4.15 matters. The likely impacts on the natural and built environment, social and economic impacts, suitability of the site, submissions and the public interest.
- Supporting reports. A summary of what the survey, BASIX certificate, stormwater plan, arborist report, bushfire assessment or flood study concludes and how the design responds.
In the growth areas there is an extra layer. A DA in Marsden Park, Box Hill, Austral or Oran Park must also address the precinct plan under State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts, Western Parkland City) 2021 and the relevant growth centre DCP.
Who writes the SEE
There is no legal requirement for a SEE to be prepared by a town planner. Owners, builders and designers lodge SEEs every day. In our experience the applications that run into trouble are the ones where the SEE was treated as a form to fill in. Where the SEE does not show the numbers, the council planner either asks for them (a request for information, which stops the clock) or assesses the drawings alone and reaches their own conclusion. A planner-prepared SEE anticipates those questions and, where the design departs from a control, makes the argument the council needs to support it.
The value is greatest on projects near a threshold: a knock-down rebuild in the Hills close to the height limit, a duplex in Penrith on a lot just under the DCP frontage, or a townhouse scheme in Campbelltown where parking and landscaped area are tight.
Common misunderstandings
“The SEE is just a formality”
It is the primary written submission in support of the DA. Under section 4.15 the council must weigh the planning instruments, the impacts, the suitability of the site, any submissions and the public interest. The SEE is where you make your case on every one of those heads.
“A CDC project needs a SEE too”
It does not. A complying development certificate is issued against the standards in the Codes SEPP and there is no merit assessment. What a CDC needs instead is complete compliance and a full set of certifier documents. The NSW Planning complying development page explains the pathway.
“The council writes the assessment, so my SEE does not matter”
The council writes its own assessment report, but it is built on what you lodged. Where the SEE has already tabulated the LEP and DCP compliance and explained the amenity outcomes, the planner’s job is verification. Where it has not, the planner has to build the assessment from scratch, and every gap becomes a question back to you.
Lodging the SEE
All DAs in NSW are lodged through the NSW Planning Portal, and the Planning Portal local development page sets out the process. The SEE is uploaded as a separate PDF alongside the plans, survey, BASIX certificate and specialist reports. Council checks the application for completeness before it is accepted, and a SEE that matches the plans and addresses the council’s checklist is the best way through that check first time.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Statement of Environmental Effects for a granny flat?
If the granny flat is approved as complying development under State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, no. If it goes to council as a DA, because the lot is under 450 square metres, the site is flood or bushfire affected, or a standard cannot be met, then yes, a SEE is required.
Can I write my own SEE?
Yes. There is no legal requirement for a planner to prepare it. Councils publish templates and guides. The risk is that a control is missed or a departure is not justified, which leads to a request for information or a refusal, and a refusal is far more expensive to fix than the SEE fee.
What is the difference between a SEE and an environmental impact statement?
A SEE accompanies a DA for local development. An environmental impact statement is a much larger document required for designated development and state significant development, prepared under the Secretary’s environmental assessment requirements. Houses, duplexes, granny flats and townhouses never need an EIS.
URBA prepares the Statement of Environmental Effects for houses, knock-down rebuilds, dual occupancies, granny flats, townhouses and subdivisions across Sydney, the Central Coast, the Hunter, the Illawarra and regional NSW. If you have plans ready or a site you are weighing up, tell us the address and what you want to build and we will send a fee proposal.