Conditions of consent

Development applications (DAs) require approval from a consent authority in the form of a development consent (also called a notice of determination). A DA may be determined by:

• granting consent unconditionally
• granting consent subject to conditions
• refusing consent.

Conditions of consent control and regulate the implementation and operation of approved development. Conditions provide certainty to both the consent holder and the community about the obligations that must be carried out throughout the life of the development – from the time consent is granted to when the development is used.

The NSW Government passed the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Planning System Reforms) Act 2025 introducing the ability to impose standard and model conditions. When these changes come into effect, certain conditions will be made mandatory.

The detail of the proposed changes are explained in an Explanation of Intended Effect. Visit the NSW Planning Portal for more information.

Non-mandatory best practice conditions (previously called standard conditions) are available to help achieve certainty and consistency for builders, developers, investors and certifiers who work across multiple local government areas. This frees up councils to focus on the more complex aspects of development assessment and compliance.

The conditions are currently under review for integration with proposed reforms to standard and model conditions of consent. They are not mandatory.

Best practice 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.

Bespoke conditions should be prepared in accordance with the Guide to writing conditions of consent (PDF, 314 KB).

The guide helps 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.

For development applications lodged on or after 30 June 2023, councils are required to use the standard format notice of determination on the NSW Planning Portal for local DAs or when exercising consent authority functions of a Sydney district or regional planning panel on behalf of the panel. Introducing a standard format will provide greater consistency and make development consents easier to navigate.