Neighbour notification for development applications over Christmas period

The neighbour notification period between Christmas and New Year is now legislated. The legislation reads "The period between 20 December and 10 January (inclusive) is excluded from the calculation of a period of public exhibition."

Council’s neighbour notification period is currently 15 days. Applications notified on or after 4 December 2023 until 10 January 2024 (inclusive) will be subject to this extended notification period.

Note: Before an application can be notified it is checked for completeness and must be invoiced and payment received. The time frame for this is variable.

Improvements underway

We understand that you need your development application determined as efficiently as possible, so as part of our commitment to improving customer service, we’re streamlining the ways DAs are processed.

This means we're now, for example:

  • asking for more information from you upfront
  • offering 14 days to get back to us with extra details or design changes
  • seeking to reduce the time between lodgement and determination.

Council follows NSW Department of Planning and Environment guidelines and are currently transitioning toward full implementation of their best practice recommendations.

This will result in a more timely and transparent system that aims to give you greater certainty.

We apologise to any customer who experiences any delays while we move to the new framework.

DA processing

All development applications - regardless of when they are lodged - are subject to the same six step approach: 1 pre-lodgement, 2 lodgement, 3 assessment, 4 determination, 5 construction certificate and 6 occupation certificate.

Getting the first stage, pre-lodgement, right can lead to easier processing. Lodging an assessment-ready application is the second stage.

Next your DA is assigned to a planner for further assessment by council before stage 4, determination.

If development consent is granted, the final two stages are issuing the construction and occupation certificates.

See our development application pages or download Your guide to the development application process for more information.

Several factors can impact the processing a DA including the complexity, completeness and location of the application lodged, need to comply with different regulations, time taken by various referral agencies to process council requests, and the availability of specialist staff.

Not all development needs council consent. See our guide for more on exempt and other types of developments.

Sustaining the shire

Our development control and local environment plans help protect the unique qualities of the shire, making it an ideal place to live, work and visit.

Together these plans are key to assessing applications and also contribute to our Community Strategic Plan, which outlines our aspirations and vision, now and for the future.

It's never too early to get in touch

Please get in touch with our team for more information or track the progress of your application via the NSW Department of Planning application tracker or our DA tracker.