Councils are encouraged to use the standard conditions in every development consent to ensure best practice and help achieve certainty and consistency for builders, developers, investors and certifiers who work across multiple local government areas.
However, the standard conditions may not address every issue for a particular site or type of development. In this case, councils or planning panels may prepare a bespoke condition of consent.
An updated Guide to writing conditions of consent (PDF, 365 KB) has been prepared to assist councils.
When to use bespoke conditions of consent
Councils and planning panels will continue to be able to prepare bespoke conditions for site-specific issues that are not addressed by the standard conditions.
Bespoke conditions could be prepared to address outstanding issues related to matters such as heritage conservation, protection and retention of significant trees, or creation of easements for access for drainage. For example, a bespoke condition could require photographic archival recording of significant heritage fabric prior to demolition, where this aspect of the development application had been considered and approved by the local council.
Councils can upload their own bespoke conditions if a standard condition does not apply. The standard conditions are automatically available in development consents prepared through the portal.
Writing conditions of development consent
Bespoke conditions should be prepared in accordance with the Guide to writing conditions of consent.
The guide was released in May 2021 to help consent authorities prepare appropriate, well-structured and legally enforceable conditions and development consents and also to help those who interact with the planning system – from builders and developers to home renovators or affected landowners – to better understand conditions of consent.
In August 2022, we revised the guide to reflect the updated Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation, stakeholder feedback and be consistent with the updated drafting style of the standard residential conditions.
For more information, email [email protected]