A statement of environmental effects is only as good as the drawing set and reports behind it, and in NSW the documents a DA must carry are set by Schedule 1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, the NSW Planning Portal lodgement requirements and each council’s DA checklist. When a builder hands a town planner a complete package (survey, DA-standard architectural set, BASIX certificate, stormwater concept, landscape plan and the specialist reports the site’s constraints trigger), the SEE can be written with compliance tables from day one and the council has no reason to issue a request for information. This checklist is for builders across Sydney, the Central Coast, the Hunter and the Illawarra who lodge DAs for houses, knock-down rebuilds, duplexes, granny flats and townhouses and want to stop the RFI cycle that adds months to a program.
Key takeaways
- Schedule 1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 sets out the documents that must accompany a DA, and the NSW Planning Portal requires a statement of environmental effects, owner’s consent and a cost estimate report at lodgement.
- A BASIX certificate is required for every new dwelling, for alterations and additions over $50,000 and for pools and spas over 40,000 litres under State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022, and its commitments must match the DA drawings.
- The DA drawing set is a planning set, not the construction certificate set: it needs RLs to AHD, setbacks dimensioned to boundaries, wall and ridge heights, site coverage and landscaped area calculations and shadow diagrams for two storey work.
- Stormwater concepts, arborist reports, bushfire and flood assessments are triggered by the site, and lodging without them when the section 10.7 certificate flags the constraint guarantees an RFI.
- Multi dwelling and dual occupancy DAs add swept path plans to AS 2890.1, a landscape plan with deep soil and canopy calculations and, where subdivision is proposed, a draft plan of subdivision.
Who this is for: builders and their drafting teams who prepare residential DAs in NSW and want a documentation checklist by development type so the town planner can write the SEE without gaps and the council does not issue a request for information.
What does the Regulation and the Planning Portal require with every DA?
Schedule 1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, headed Development applications, lists the documents that must accompany a DA, and for local development that includes a statement of environmental effects describing the likely impacts and how they will be managed. The NSW Planning Portal’s local development page states that applicants must supply a statement of environmental effects, owner’s consent and a cost estimate report, with further documents as the consent authority requires. Where a development standard is to be varied, the clause 4.6 written request must be lodged with the DA. Each council then publishes its own DA checklist, and the assessing planner uses it. The handover that works is the builder’s designer supplying that checklist to the planner marked up with what exists and what is outstanding; an SEE can explain a stormwater strategy but cannot substitute for the engineer’s plan the checklist asks for.
Which drawings does a DA-standard architectural set need?
The DA set is assessed against the LEP and DCP, not the National Construction Code, so it must show the planning numbers. As a minimum for a house, rebuild or duplex the planner needs: a site plan at 1:200 with boundaries from the survey, setbacks dimensioned from every wall to every boundary, the driveway and crossing, stormwater line and discharge point, trees to be retained and removed, and a north point; a site analysis plan showing neighbouring dwellings, windows and private open space; floor plans with gross floor area calculated to the LEP dictionary definition; elevations with existing and finished ground levels, finished floor levels, wall and ridge heights to AHD; sections through the steepest part of the site showing cut and fill; a materials schedule; and site coverage, landscaped area and private open space calculations tabulated on the site plan. Two storey work needs shadow diagrams at 9 am, 12 noon and 3 pm on 21 June. The recurring omissions are levels and the GFA calculation, which councils recalculate. National Construction Code 2022 Volume Two and the ABCB Housing Provisions govern the construction certificate set, which is a later, different document.
Which reports are triggered by the site rather than the design?
Read the section 10.7(2) and (5) certificate and the title search before the drawings start. Each notation triggers a document:
- Bushfire prone land: a bushfire assessment to Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019 setting the bushfire attack level and asset protection zones; AS 3959:2018 construction follows at CC stage.
- Flood planning area: a flood report showing the flood planning level and proposed floor levels, with an evacuation statement where the LEP flood clause applies.
- Trees on or near the site: an arborist report to AS 4970-2009 with tree protection zones and a retention or removal recommendation for each tree.
- Sloping or filled sites: a geotechnical report where the DCP or checklist requires it, and structural retaining wall details where cut or fill exceeds the DCP limits.
- Heritage items or conservation areas: a heritage impact statement.
- Contamination notation or former non-residential use: a preliminary site investigation under State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021.
Checklist by development type
| Document | New house or rebuild | Dual occupancy | Secondary dwelling (DA) | Townhouses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detail and level survey | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| DA architectural set with RLs, setbacks and calculations | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Shadow diagrams (21 June) | Two storey | Two storey | Two storey | Required |
| BASIX certificate | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Stormwater concept plan | Where the site falls away from the street or council requires OSD | Required | Usually | Required, with OSD and WSUD |
| Landscape plan | Usually | Required | Often | Required, with deep soil and canopy |
| Waste management plan | Required | Required | Required | Required, with operational waste |
| Swept path plan to AS 2890.1 | Rarely | Rear dwelling or narrow driveway | Rear dwelling | Required |
| Draft plan of subdivision | No | If subdivision proposed | No (subdivision prohibited) | If subdivision proposed |
| Clause 4.6 request | If height or FSR exceeded | If lot size, height or FSR exceeded | If FSR exceeded | If any standard exceeded |
| Cost estimate and owner’s consent | Required | Required | Required | Required (QS report above council threshold) |
What does BASIX need to match?
State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022 carries the BASIX standards in Chapter 2 and Schedules 1 and 2, and the NSW Planning Portal confirms that a certificate is required for new homes, alterations and additions over $50,000 and pools and spas over 40,000 litres. The assessor’s inputs (glazing, insulation, orientation, floor area, hot water and rainwater tank) must match the DA drawings; when the window schedule or slab type changes after the certificate issues, it has to be regenerated before lodgement, because a mismatch is an RFI and a condition. Our sister company NatHERS Pro prepares BASIX and NatHERS certificates directly from the DA set.
Stormwater, parking and landscape: the engineering the planner cannot write
Three items are drawn by other consultants but quoted in the SEE, and they cause more RFIs than anything the planner controls. Stormwater: the concept must show a legal point of discharge (kerb, council pit or inter-allotment easement), on-site detention where the council requires it and pipe sizing to AS/NZS 3500.3:2021; a site that falls away from the street with no easement is a problem to solve before lodgement, and our sister company Contrive Consultants prepares stormwater and OSD concepts for this purpose. Parking and access: driveway gradients, sight lines and space dimensions to AS 2890.1:2004, and for a rear dwelling or any multi dwelling scheme a swept path plan proving a B99 vehicle can enter and leave in a forward direction. Landscape: a plan with landscaped area and deep soil percentages calculated to the DCP definitions, which differ between councils, and planting that meets the canopy targets several Sydney councils now impose.
The handover sequence that avoids the RFI
- Send the planner the address, the section 10.7 certificate, the title search with the 88B instrument and the survey before design is finalised, so constraints are identified early.
- Agree the pathway (DA or CDC) and, for a DA, the document list from the council checklist; assign each document to a consultant with a date.
- Have the designer issue the DA set with calculations on the site plan and levels to AHD; the planner checks setbacks, height, FSR, site coverage and landscaped area against the LEP and DCP and reports any variation.
- Resolve variations by redesign or by a justified variation in the SEE (or a clause 4.6 request for a development standard) before the certificate and engineering are finalised.
- Collect the BASIX certificate, stormwater concept, landscape plan, waste plan, cost estimate, owner’s consent and site-triggered reports, and check each against the drawing revision.
- Planner writes the SEE with compliance tables and lodges through the NSW Planning Portal, then tracks the application and answers any request for information within the period given.
Definitions
- Request for information (RFI)
- A council letter asking for additional documents or amended plans before assessment continues; late or incomplete responses lead to refusal or rejection of the DA.
- Statement of environmental effects (SEE)
- The planning report required by Schedule 1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 that addresses the section 4.15 matters and tables compliance with the LEP and DCP.
- BASIX certificate
- The certificate issued through the NSW Planning Portal recording a dwelling’s water, energy and thermal comfort commitments under the Sustainable Buildings SEPP.
- Detail and level survey
- A registered surveyor’s plan showing boundaries, spot levels to AHD, structures, trees, services and neighbouring features, from which setbacks, height and cut and fill are measured.
Frequently asked questions
What documents does a town planner need to write an SEE?
At minimum the survey, the DA-standard architectural set with levels and calculations, the section 10.7 certificate and title search, the BASIX certificate, the stormwater concept and landscape plan, plus any site-triggered report such as bushfire, flood or arborist, together with the council’s own DA checklist.
Do I need a BASIX certificate for a granny flat DA?
Yes. A secondary dwelling is a new dwelling and BASIX applies under the Sustainable Buildings SEPP regardless of size, with the certificate lodged with the DA or CDC application.
Why do councils issue RFIs when the checklist has been followed?
Usually because documents contradict each other: a BASIX certificate that does not match the windows, a landscape plan drawn on a superseded site plan, or a stormwater concept discharging to a point the survey shows is higher than the site. Version control across consultants is the fix.
When is a swept path plan required?
Whenever vehicles must turn on site, which includes any rear dwelling reached by a driveway beside the front house and every multi dwelling scheme. Councils assess it to AS 2890.1 and will ask for it if it is not lodged.
URBA works with builders across Sydney and regional NSW as the planning consultant on the DA team, reviewing the drawing set against the LEP and DCP before lodgement and writing the SEE with the compliance tables councils expect. See our SEE service and our RFI response and modification service, or request a fee proposal for your next project.
Sources and references
- Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, Schedule 1 Development applications, accessed September 2026
- NSW Planning Portal, Local development (documents required to lodge a DA), accessed September 2026
- NSW Planning Portal, BASIX, accessed September 2026
- State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022, Chapter 2 and Schedules 1 and 2, accessed September 2026
- Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, section 4.15, accessed September 2026
- National Construction Code 2022 Volume Two, Parts H1 to H8, accessed September 2026
- ABCB Housing Provisions 2022, Parts 2 to 13, accessed September 2026
Information disclaimer. This article is general planning information prepared by the URBA Planning Team and is current at the date of publication. It is not planning, legal or financial advice for any specific property. Planning instruments, development control plans, state policies and the National Construction Code are amended regularly and councils interpret them differently; the controls quoted here should be confirmed against the versions in force at the date of lodgement and against the consent authority’s current requirements. Reliance on this article is at the reader’s own risk. URBA Planning, a division of Contrive Consultants Pty Ltd, accepts no liability for loss arising from its use. For advice on a specific site, contact URBA for a fee proposal.