Section 4.15(1) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 lists the matters a NSW consent authority must take into consideration when it determines a development application: the environmental planning instruments and DCPs that apply, the likely impacts on the natural and built environment and the social and economic impacts, the suitability of the site, any submissions received, and the public interest. A council planner in Sydney works through those heads in that order, writes a finding on each, and recommends approval or refusal. Your Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) is the document that should give them a ready answer under every head.
Key takeaways
- Section 4.15(1)(a) covers the planning rules: SEPPs, the LEP, any draft instrument, the DCP, planning agreements and the Regulation.
- Section 4.15(1)(b) covers the likely impacts, which for houses, duplexes and townhouses means amenity, stormwater, trees, traffic and construction effects.
- Section 4.15(1)(c), site suitability, is where flood, bushfire, contamination, slope and servicing are weighed.
- Section 4.15(1)(d) obliges council to consider every submission, but not to agree with it.
- Section 4.15(3A) tells council to be flexible with DCP controls where the objectives are met, which is the basis for most successful departures.
The five heads, and what each one really asks
The section reads like a list, but a planner treats it as five questions. The NSW Planning page on the Act gives the framework; below is how it plays out on a residential DA in Blacktown, Parramatta, Camden or Newcastle.
(a) The planning instruments
Is the development permissible, does it meet the development standards, and how does it sit against the DCP? The planner checks the zone and land use table in the LEP (for example Parramatta LEP 2023 or Central Coast LEP 2022), each relevant clause (height of buildings, floor space ratio, minimum lot size, heritage, flood planning, earthworks), each SEPP that applies (Sustainable Buildings for BASIX, Housing for secondary dwellings, Resilience and Hazards for contamination, Biodiversity and Conservation for vegetation), and then the DCP control by control. Any draft instrument on public exhibition is also considered. A breach of an LEP development standard can only be approved with a written request under clause 4.6, which is why our clause 4.6 variation request service sits alongside the SEE.
(b) The likely impacts
What will the development do to its surroundings? For a house or duplex the planner looks at overshadowing, privacy, views, bulk and scale in the street, stormwater and flooding downstream, tree loss, traffic and parking, noise and dust during construction, and the effect on any heritage item nearby. For a townhouse scheme the list extends to waste, landscaping, cumulative traffic and the character of the block. Social and economic impacts are usually neutral for small residential projects, and the SEE can say so briefly.
(c) The suitability of the site
Can this land carry this development? This is where the planner reads the flood study, the bushfire assessment under Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019, the geotechnical report on a steep block, the contamination statement, and the servicing position (sewer and water availability, a lawful stormwater discharge point). A site that is unsuitable cannot be fixed by conditions, which is why an unresolved flood or stormwater issue leads to refusal rather than an RFI.
(d) Submissions
Council must consider every submission made under the community participation plan, but it must weigh them against the planning merits. An objection that says “we do not want a duplex in this street” carries little weight where the DCP anticipates duplexes. An objection that identifies real overshadowing of a living room does. The planner writes a response to each issue raised, and a SEE that has already analysed those issues gives them the material.
(e) The public interest
The residual head. It picks up consistency with the objectives of the zone, the strategic plans for the area (for instance the Western Sydney District Plan or a council’s local strategic planning statement), the housing supply targets that now sit behind the Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms, and anything that does not fit elsewhere. It is rarely decisive on its own but it is where a planner explains why a technically compliant proposal is being refused, or a marginal one approved.
Section 4.15(3A): why DCP controls are not the last word
Section 4.15(3A) directs the consent authority to apply DCP provisions flexibly and to allow reasonable alternative solutions that achieve the objectives of the control. It is the single most useful provision for a residential applicant. It means that a first floor side setback 300 millimetres under the DCP figure, or a landscaped area a few per cent short, can be approved where the SEE shows the objective (privacy, amenity, streetscape, drainage) is still met. It does not apply to LEP standards, which need clause 4.6. And it does not help where the SEE has simply asserted compliance without showing the working, because then there is nothing for the planner to be flexible about.
How the assessment report is built
Council assessment reports across NSW follow a similar skeleton, and it maps directly onto section 4.15.
| Report section | Section 4.15 head | What the planner draws on |
|---|---|---|
| Site and locality description | Context for (b) and (c) | Survey, site inspection, the SEE site description |
| Proposal description | Context for everything | Plans and the SEE proposal description |
| Statutory considerations: SEPPs, LEP, DCP | (a) | The SEE compliance tables, clause 4.6 request if any |
| Environmental impacts | (b) | Shadow diagrams, privacy analysis, stormwater concept, arborist report |
| Site suitability | (c) | Flood, bushfire, geotechnical, contamination, servicing reports |
| Submissions | (d) | Each objection, the applicant’s response |
| Public interest and conclusion | (e) | Zone objectives, strategic plans, overall merit |
| Recommendation and conditions | Outcome | Standard and site-specific conditions of consent |
Read that table and the purpose of a good SEE becomes obvious. It is written in the same order, so the planner can lift the compliance findings, the amenity analysis and the site suitability material straight into the report and spend their time verifying rather than reconstructing.
Who makes the decision
For most house, duplex, granny flat and small townhouse DAs the decision is made by council staff under delegation. Some applications go to a local planning panel because of the number of objections, a departure from a development standard above a threshold, or a conflict of interest; the triggers are on the NSW Planning local planning panels page. The panel applies the same section 4.15 test, but in public, with the assessment report published beforehand. Either way, the applicant’s opportunity to influence the outcome is largely spent by the time the report is written.
What this means for how you prepare a DA
- Answer (a) with tables. Every LEP standard and DCP control with the requirement and the proposal side by side, and departures flagged and justified against the objective.
- Answer (b) with numbers. Hours of sun, separation distances, tree protection zones, OSD volumes, traffic generation.
- Answer (c) with reports. Flood, bushfire, geotechnical and servicing constraints resolved before lodgement, not left for conditions.
- Anticipate (d). Where a neighbour will be affected, the SEE should already contain the analysis and the design response.
- Frame (e). A paragraph on zone objectives and local strategy is enough for most residential DAs.
An assessment that runs this way is faster, and it produces an approval whose conditions are fewer and more predictable, because the planner has not had to invent conditions to cover matters the application left open.
Frequently asked questions
What is section 4.15 of the EP&A Act?
It is the provision that lists the matters a consent authority must consider when determining a development application: the planning instruments and DCPs, the likely impacts, the suitability of the site, submissions and the public interest. It was previously numbered section 79C.
Does council have to follow the DCP?
Council must consider the DCP, but section 4.15(3A) requires it to apply the controls flexibly and accept alternative solutions that meet the objectives. A DCP departure can be approved on merit. An LEP development standard is different and needs a clause 4.6 request.
Can a DA be refused because neighbours object?
Not on the objections alone. Council must consider submissions, but it weighs them against the planning merits. Objections that identify a genuine impact the application has not addressed carry weight; general opposition to the type of development does not.
Who decides my DA, the council or a panel?
Most residential DAs are determined by council staff under delegation. Applications with many objections, larger departures from development standards or a conflict of interest go to a local planning panel, which applies the same section 4.15 assessment at a public meeting.
Our planners write every Statement of Environmental Effects to the section 4.15 structure, so the assessing officer finds a finding under each head rather than a description of the building. If you want a DA prepared the way the council will read it, anywhere in Sydney or regional NSW, send us the plans and we will provide a fee proposal.