Homeowners can carry out some minor building works to their house without development approval. This is called exempt development.
Exempt development examples:
- building patios, garden sheds, carports, fences and some decks
- repairing a window
- painting a house
- installing an air conditioner
Homeowners can carry out other routine work under the fast tracked combined planning and building approval called complying development. Complying development can be approved by the local council or an accredited certifier and includes:
- building a new one or two-storey house
- alterations and additions to a house
- demolishing a building
For both exempt and complying development, it is important to comply with the general requirements and development standards in State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008. Conditions on complying development certificates must also be complied with.
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