DA fees and Planning Portal costs in NSW: the fee schedule explained

The fee a NSW council charges to assess a development application is set by Schedule 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, not by the council, and it is calculated from the estimated development cost you declare on the NSW Planning Portal. For 2026-27 the fee unit that drives the scale is $118.55, so a new house with an estimated development cost of $650,000 attracts a base DA fee of about $2,666, plus a planning reform fee (the descendant of the old PlanFirst levy) once the cost exceeds $50,000, plus a notification fee where the council’s community participation plan requires exhibition, plus the Planning Portal’s own service fees. This article gives home owners the whole cost picture, with the clause numbers, so the DA budget is right before the first drawing is commissioned.

Who this is for: home owners budgeting a new house, knock-down rebuild, extension or granny flat DA anywhere in NSW who want to understand each fee line on the Planning Portal invoice and what else the project will cost before consent.

How is the DA fee calculated under the EP&A Regulation 2021?

Schedule 4 Part 2 of the Regulation sets the maximum fees councils can charge for development applications other than State significant development. Item 2.1 applies to a DA involving the erection of a building, the carrying out of a work or demolition, and it scales with the estimated development cost including GST:

• Up to $5,000: 1.29 fee units.
• $5,001 to $50,000: 1.98 fee units plus $3.00 for each $1,000 (or part) above $5,000.
• $50,001 to $250,000: 4.12 fee units plus $3.64 for each $1,000 above $50,000.
• $250,001 to $500,000: 13.56 fee units plus $2.34 for each $1,000 above $250,000.
• $500,001 to $1 million: 20.41 fee units plus $1.64 for each $1,000 above $500,000.
• $1,000,001 to $10 million: 30.58 fee units plus $1.44 for each $1,000 above $1 million.
• More than $10 million: 185.65 fee units plus $1.19 for each $1,000 above $10 million.

Item 2.3 gives a flat fee of 5.32 fee units for a DA for a dwelling house with an estimated development cost of $100,000 or less. Item 2.5 sets the fee for a subdivision DA that does not open a public road at 3.86 fee units plus $53 for each additional lot, and item 2.6 the same base for strata subdivision plus $65 per lot. Item 2.7 charges 3.33 fee units for a DA that involves no building, work or subdivision, such as a change of use.

Part 1 of Schedule 4 defines the fee unit. It was $100 in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and is indexed each financial year by the March quarter consumer price index, with fees rounded to the nearest dollar. The published values are $107.28 for 2023-24, $111.32 for 2024-25, $113.90 for 2025-26 and $118.55 for 2026-27. The common mistake is quoting last year’s fee from a council website; the Portal calculates the fee on the day of lodgement using the current unit.

What is the estimated development cost and who sets it?

Estimated development cost (EDC) is the single cost measure introduced by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Estimated Development Cost) Regulation 2023 in place of the older “estimated cost of development” and “capital investment value”. It includes design and construction costs, associated infrastructure, demolition and fixed plant, and it excludes land, developer contributions, planning agreement costs, GST as the base figure (although the fee bands in Schedule 4 use the figure including GST) and ongoing maintenance. The Department’s guidance is that projects under $3 million need a cost estimate in the approved form, and projects above $3 million need a report from a quantity surveyor who is a member of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Section 251 of the Regulation then tells the consent authority to use the EDC specified in the application when determining the fee, unless in its opinion the figure is not genuine or accurate. Councils compare declared costs against published construction rates, so a $250,000 declaration for a 300 square metre two storey house will be queried and the application held until a realistic cost report is uploaded. The EDC also feeds the planning reform fee and any Section 7.12 levy, so it pays to get it right once.

What is the planning reform fee and why is it sometimes called PlanFirst?

Section 266 of the Regulation applies to any DA for building, work or demolition with an EDC including GST of more than $50,000. The consent authority must set aside an amount from the DA fee and pay it to the Planning Secretary for “planning reform services”, calculated by the formula in Section 266(3) on the EDC rounded up to the nearest thousand dollars. The Regulation expresses it as a small percentage of EDC (commonly quoted as 0.064 per cent), so on a $650,000 house the amount is around $416; confirm the exact figure on the Portal fee estimate, because the formula sits in the Regulation and councils show it as a separate line. This is the contribution originally introduced in 2003 as the PlanFirst levy to fund planning reform, and the name still appears on some council fee schedules. It is collected with the DA fee, not paid separately.

What other fees appear on the Planning Portal invoice?

Schedule 4 Part 3 lists the additional fees. Item 3.8 allows 12.92 fee units for giving notice or exhibiting a DA where the community participation plan requires it, which is most new houses and all dual occupancies. Item 3.1 adds 1.64 fee units for integrated development (for example a bushfire safety authority from the NSW Rural Fire Service or a water licence) plus 9.27 fee units payable to the Development Coordination Authority for each approval, and item 3.2 mirrors that for concurrence. Item 3.4 allows 35.08 fee units where a DA is referred to a design review panel, which some councils apply to larger residential work. Part 4 covers modifications: item 4.1 sets 0.83 fee units for a Section 4.55(1) modification to correct a minor error, with higher fees for 4.55(1A) and 4.55(2) modifications that scale with the original DA fee.

The NSW Planning Portal charges its own service fees to maintain the digital lodgement system, separate from council assessment fees. For 2026-27 most Portal service fees are $47 (up from $46 in 2025-26), with smaller charges of about $6 for registering a construction, occupation, subdivision or complying development certificate (Schedule 4 item 9.6 sets this at 0.05 fee units) and $5 for a BASIX certificate application. The Portal issues the invoice automatically after lodgement and payment is made through the Service NSW gateway.

Worked examples for 2026-27

The figures are calculated from the Regulation’s scale and the 2026-27 fee unit and rounded as the Regulation requires; the Portal’s fee estimate on the day of lodgement is the authoritative amount.

What else do you pay for before and after consent?

1. A Section 10.7(2) and (5) planning certificate before design starts, and a title search with the Section 88B instrument from NSW Land Registry Services.
2. Survey, architectural or building design drawings, and the BASIX certificate, which is required with the DA for a new dwelling, alterations of $50,000 or more, or a pool over 40,000 litres.
3. Specialist reports as the site requires: bushfire assessment, arborist report, flood or stormwater design, geotechnical report, acoustic report near busy roads or rail, heritage impact statement, and the statement of environmental effects itself.
4. The DA fee, planning reform fee, notification fee and Portal service fee on lodgement, and any integrated development fees.
5. After consent, local infrastructure contributions under Sections 7.11 or 7.12 of the Act and, in Greater Sydney and the nominated regions, the Housing and Productivity Contribution, both normally paid before the construction certificate.
6. The construction certificate fee charged by the council or private certifier, the long service levy payable to the Long Service Corporation on building work above the threshold, and the Portal registration fee for each certificate.
7. Occupation certificate and, for subdivision, subdivision certificate fees and NSW Land Registry Services lodgement fees.

Where home owners go wrong is comparing only the DA fee across pathways. A complying development certificate avoids the council DA fee and the notification fee but the private certifier’s CDC fee, the Portal fee and the contributions still apply, and the plan must meet every Codes SEPP standard. The right comparison is the total cost to an occupation certificate, including the consultant reports each pathway demands.

Definitions

Fee unit

The indexed base amount in Schedule 4 Part 1 of the EP&A Regulation 2021 used to express most planning fees. It started at $100 in 2021-22 and is $118.55 for 2026-27.

Estimated development cost

The genuine cost of the development including design, construction, demolition and fixed plant but excluding land and contributions, declared on the Planning Portal and used to set DA fees, the planning reform fee and Section 7.12 levies.

Planning reform fee

The amount a consent authority must set aside from the DA fee under Section 266 of the Regulation for development costing more than $50,000, paid to the Planning Secretary for planning reform services and historically known as the PlanFirst levy.

Planning Portal service fee

A charge by the Department for lodging applications and certificates through the NSW Planning Portal, separate from council or certifier assessment fees, invoiced automatically after lodgement.

Notification fee

The fee under Schedule 4 item 3.8 for giving notice of, or exhibiting, a DA where the council’s community participation plan requires it, currently 12.92 fee units.

Community participation plan

The plan each council adopts under the EP&A Act setting out which applications are notified or exhibited and for how long. It determines whether the notification fee applies to your DA.

URBA prepares statements of environmental effects and manages Planning Portal lodgement for houses, granny flats and duplexes, and we give clients a full lodgement cost breakdown, including the fee estimate, before we start. See our statement of environmental effects service and our planning FAQ, or request a fee proposal for your project.