Application Types
Council offers the following types of Pre-lodgement Services to assist you prior to the lodgement of your Development Application. If you are unsure which meeting type is appropriate for your proposal, contact our Planning Enquiry Officers on 1300 434 434 for assistance.
Written Advice Only or Written Advice with a Short Meeting
These options do not involve advice from other Council departments.
Should you need advice that also involves a development engineer, stormwater engineer, flooding engineer, landscape officer, biodiversity officer or a heritage expert, the appropriate application is a Pre-lodgement Meeting.
These options are suitable for residential and minor commercial proposals where Council’s written advice on a single issue is being sought.
If a short meeting is required for you to give further explanation on the single planning issue, then the Written Advice plus Meeting is best. The meeting will be a maximum of 20mins and is only to cover the single issue.
Examples of a single issue include:
- A new dwelling with a breach of the height limit.
- Alterations and additions to a dwelling that results in a landscaped area non-compliance.
- A garage or carport forward of the front building line.
- Is a particular use (eg: gym, take away food shop, entertainment facility) permitted on a particular site.
Council will provide a brief set of notes containing the Written Advice within 10 business days from the date the application is accepted.
Pre-Lodgement Meeting
This option can involve advice from other Council departments.
Pre-Lodgement Meetings are more suitable for large and/or complex development proposals such as residential flat buildings, seniors housing, boarding houses or more complex single dwellings on difficult or constrained sites.
A Pre-Lodgement meeting provides the applicant with an opportunity to present and discuss their proposal and obtain Council’s advice prior to the lodgement of a Development Application. This is particularly useful for proposals involving multiple non-compliances with the planning controls and/or development on constrained sites (steepness, narrowness, flooding, trees, watercourses, wave impacts, rock outcrops, stormwater and heritage).
Meetings are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays only and are held via Microsoft Teams. Meetings are held approximately 3-5 weeks from the date of receipt of the application and detailed written Notes will be sent to the applicant within 14 days (Class 1) or 21 days (Class 2-9) from the date of the meeting.
Pre-Lodgement notes are confidential until such time that a DA is lodged, and then the Notes will be released online.
Design & Sustainability Advisory Panel (DSAP) and Pre-Lodgement Meeting
The DSAP panel reviews all SEPP 65 developments, shop-top housing, multi-unit housing, boarding houses, seniors housing, as well as large commercial and industrial applications.
When applying for a Pre-Lodgement meeting for one of these types of developments, you will also need to apply for a DSAP & Pre-Lodgement meeting.
During the DSAP meeting the applicant will be provided with advice on architecture/urban design, landscape and sustainability issues only.
A follow up Pre-Lodgement meeting will be scheduled two weeks after the DSAP meeting, where all remaining issues, including heritage, traffic, engineering, flooding, ecological and waste, as well as planning feedback for any amendments made after the DSAP meeting, will be discussed.
For more information on the Design & Sustainability Advisory Panel, please visit the webpage.
Stormwater and/or Vehicular Access Pre-Lodgement Meeting
This type of Pre-lodgement meeting is run by Council’s Development Engineers and is for stormwater and vehicular access issues only. Council Planners will not be involved, so if you would like to discuss planning matters as well as stormwater or vehicular access issues, the standard Pre-lodgement meeting is the best option.
Meeting Details
Lodge an Application
1. Complete the online application form.
2. Once Council has formally reviewed your application, you will required to pay the relevant application fee based on the estimated cost of the proposal.
3. Any enquiries please email DAPrelodgements@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au
Lodgement Requirements
To assist in the preparation of lodging an online application for a Pre-Lodgement Meeting, please ensure the following documents are provided in PDF format:
- 1 electronic copy of plans (1 PDF document labelled 'Plans - Master Set')
- Report detailing the 'Summary of Proposed Works'
- Regarding the Written Advice Service, please ensure a detailed report is submitted outlining the 'singular issue' to be discussed.
- Additionally any supporting documents/reports to be discussed at the meeting (separate PDF documents clearly labelled)
Fees and Charges
Written Advice Only or Written Advice and a Short Meeting
| Written Advice Only on a single planning issue | $315 |
| Written Advice and a Short Meeting on a single planning issue | $425 |
Pre-Lodgement Meeting
| Development with estimated cost up to $500,000 | $970 |
| Development with estimated cost between $500,001-$2,000,000 | $1,280 |
| Development with estimated cost between $2,000,001-$5,000,000 or subdivision up to 5 lots | $1,600 |
| Development with estimated cost between $5,000,001- 20,000,000 or subdivision between 6 - 20 lots | $1,910 |
| Development with estimated cost of more than $20,000,001 or subdivision more than 20 lots | $2,540 |
Design and Sustainability Advisory Panel and Pre-Lodgement Meeting
| Development required to be reviewed by Design and Sustainability Advisory Panel which include a Pre-lodgement meeting with staff | $3,445 |