A council-ready Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) for a new house in Sydney contains a clear site and proposal description, a permissibility check against the LEP zone, a clause-by-clause response to the LEP development standards (height, floor space ratio where it applies, heritage, flood), a DCP compliance table covering setbacks, site coverage, landscaped area, private open space, parking, solar access, privacy and streetscape, a section 4.15 impact assessment, and a summary of the supporting reports. The test is simple: could a council planner in Blacktown, Parramatta or the Hills write their assessment report from your SEE without asking you a single question? If yes, it is council-ready.
Key takeaways
- A new dwelling house on R2 land goes to council as a DA whenever it cannot meet every standard in the Housing Code, and the SEE is then a mandatory document under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021.
- The SEE must respond to the specific LEP and DCP for the council, for example Blacktown LEP 2015 and Blacktown DCP 2015, not to generic Sydney rules.
- A numeric compliance table for the LEP standards and the DCP controls is the single most useful section for the assessing planner.
- Every departure from a control needs a written justification tied to the objectives of that control.
- The SEE has to be consistent with the plans, the survey, the BASIX certificate and the stormwater drawings, or it will attract a request for information.
Start with why the house is a DA at all
Most new houses in Sydney are built as complying development under the Housing Code in the Codes SEPP. A DA is needed when a standard cannot be met (lot size, lot width, setbacks, height, site coverage), when the land carries a constraint the code excludes (heritage, some flood control lots, certain bushfire categories, environmentally sensitive land), or when the design is simply better than the code allows. Your SEE should say in the first two pages which applies, because it tells the planner where the assessment will focus. If the pathway has not been settled, our DA or CDC pathway advice is the place to start.
The checklist: what every section must contain
1. Site description
- Lot and deposited plan number, street address, site area and dimensions taken from the survey, not the contract.
- Orientation, slope (fall across the site in metres), existing dwelling and structures, trees with species and height, fences, driveways.
- Easements, restrictions on use, sewer mains and stormwater infrastructure, taken from the title and a Sydney Water service diagram.
- Surrounding development: storeys, setbacks and character of the adjoining and opposite dwellings.
- Constraints from the section 10.7(2) planning certificate: flood, bushfire, heritage, acid sulfate soils, contamination, biodiversity values map.
2. Proposal description
- Demolition, if any, and whether trees are to be removed.
- Number of storeys, floor area by level, gross floor area where the LEP has an FSR, building height to the ridge and to the ceiling.
- Materials and colours, roof form, garage and driveway, fencing, landscaping, cut and fill depths and retaining walls.
- Stormwater disposal method: gravity to the street, an easement, an on-site detention system or an absorption system where council allows it.
3. Permissibility and state policies
- The zone and the land use table entry. A dwelling house is permissible with consent in R2 Low Density Residential under every Sydney LEP, but the SEE should still cite the clause.
- The zone objectives, with a sentence on how the house meets them.
- State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022: BASIX certificate number and the commitments that appear on the plans.
- State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021: contamination, usually a short statement that the land has a residential history.
- State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 where trees or mapped vegetation are involved.
- Any other SEPP the site triggers, from the NSW Planning SEPP page.
4. LEP development standards
Each clause gets the standard, the proposal and a compliance statement. The usual ones for a house are height of buildings, floor space ratio (not every Sydney LEP applies an FSR to houses), minimum lot size where it affects the dwelling, heritage conservation, flood planning, earthworks and, in some areas, foreshore or scenic protection. Where a standard is exceeded, the SEE must include a written request under clause 4.6 of the LEP, and that is a separate document with its own tests. Our clause 4.6 variation request service covers it.
5. DCP compliance table
This is where most of the assessment happens. The SEE should present the DCP controls in a table: control, requirement, proposal, complies yes or no, comment. The numbers differ from council to council and change over time, so take them from the current DCP.
| Control | What councils typically regulate | What the SEE must show |
|---|---|---|
| Front setback | A fixed minimum or the average of adjoining dwellings, with garages often set further back | Setback in metres, the adjoining setbacks from the survey |
| Side and rear setbacks | Ground and first floor minimums, sometimes increased for wall length or height | Each setback per elevation, wall heights |
| Site coverage and landscaped area | Maximum building footprint and minimum soft landscaping, usually as percentages of site area | Areas in square metres and percentages, with the calculation |
| Private open space | Minimum area and dimension, directly accessible from a living room | Area, minimum dimension, orientation |
| Solar access and overshadowing | Sun to the new dwelling and to neighbours on 21 June | Shadow diagrams at 9am, 12pm and 3pm, hours of sun per neighbour |
| Visual privacy | Window offsets, sill heights, screening, separation distances | Window-by-window treatment on the side and rear elevations |
| Parking and driveway | Number of spaces, garage width relative to the frontage, driveway gradient and width | Spaces, garage door width, gradient |
6. Section 4.15 assessment
A short chapter working through section 4.15(1) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979: the planning instruments (already covered), the likely impacts on the natural and built environment (amenity, stormwater, trees, traffic, noise during construction), social and economic impacts, suitability of the site, submissions (to be addressed after notification) and the public interest.
7. Supporting reports and consistency
List each document lodged and summarise what it concludes: survey, plans, BASIX certificate, stormwater concept, landscape plan, arborist report under AS 4970-2009 where trees are affected, bushfire assessment under Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019 on bushfire prone land, flood study, geotechnical report on steep sites. Then check them against each other. A BASIX certificate with a different floor area from the plans, or a stormwater plan drawn on an old site layout, is the most common cause of a request for information we see on house DAs.
Where new house SEEs fall down in Sydney
- Generic content. A SEE that could apply to any council has not engaged with the local DCP. A house in Baulkham Hills is assessed under The Hills DCP 2012, a house in Quakers Hill under Blacktown DCP 2015, and the controls are not the same.
- Height measured wrongly. Building height under the standard instrument is measured from existing ground level, not finished level. On sloping sites in Castle Hill, Kellyville and the Blue Mountains this catches people out.
- Departures without justification. A 900 millimetre side setback where the DCP asks for 1.5 metres is not automatically a problem, but the SEE has to say why the objective of the control is still met.
Growth area houses have an extra layer
A new house in Marsden Park, Box Hill, Austral or Oran Park is usually complying development under the Greenfield Housing Code. When it goes to DA instead, the SEE must address the precinct plan under State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts, Western Parkland City) 2021 and the relevant growth centre DCP, which carry their own setbacks and lot-specific controls. Blacktown’s Plan and build page shows how a growth council organises its DA requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Statement of Environmental Effects for a new house?
Yes, if the house is lodged as a development application with council. If it is approved as complying development under the Housing Code or the Greenfield Housing Code, a certifier issues the approval and no SEE is required.
What documents go with the SEE for a house DA?
At minimum: a survey plan, architectural plans and elevations, shadow diagrams for two-storey designs, a BASIX certificate, a stormwater concept plan and a landscape plan. Councils add arborist, bushfire, flood, geotechnical or heritage reports depending on the site.
Can my builder or designer write the SEE?
They can. There is no legal requirement for a planner. The value of a planner-prepared SEE is in the DCP compliance table, the justification of any departures and the consistency check across all the documents, which is where house DAs most often get held up.
URBA prepares the Statement of Environmental Effects for new houses and knock-down rebuilds across Sydney, including the growth areas, and we check the whole DA package for consistency before it is lodged. Send us your plans and survey and we will provide a fee proposal.