Where your proposal cannot be treated as exempt or complying development, you normally need to lodge a development application with your local Council. Development that needs consent cannot legally be started unless the council grants development consent first.

A Development Application (DA) is a formal request for permission to carry out proposed development. Development is legally defined as: the erection, including alteration in whole or part, of a building;

– Work in, on, over, or under land
– The use of land or of a building
– The subdivision of land or
– The strata subdivision of a building.

Generally a DA consists of an application form and plans and drawings of the proposed development.