Heritage and the planning process — CDC, DA, or exempt?
One of the first practical questions on any heritage project is which planning pathway applies — can you use Complying Development, or do you need a full Development Application (DA)? For most heritage properties in Sydney metropolitan council areas, the answer on a Complying Development Certificate (CDC) is no. A DA is the pathway. But some works are exempt from approval entirely, which genuinely surprises people.
The planning pathway is one of the first things I establish on any heritage project — because it determines the timeframe, the cost structure, and how the design process needs to be set up. And the answer is different for heritage properties than it is for standard residential work.
Complying Development — CDC — is the fast-track option. Works assessed by a private certifier against a set of codes, considerably shorter timeframes than a full council DA. For standard residential projects it’s often the first choice. For heritage properties, it’s generally not available for external works. Properties within Heritage Conservation Areas (HCAs), or carrying a heritage listing, are normally excluded from the CDC codes for anything that changes external appearance. This catches people off guard, but it makes sense — the heritage assessment needs to happen through council and their heritage advisor, not through a code-based tick-and-flick.
What surprises many people is the other end of the scale — exempt development. A lot of internal works on unlisted properties within an HCA can proceed without any approval at all. No DA, no CDC, no council. Kitchen renovations, bathroom updates, new flooring, replastering — provided you’re not touching significant heritage fabric, these often fall into exempt development. That’s a genuine win for a lot of homeowners who’ve been dreading council involvement.
For works that do need approval, the pathway is a DA to council. Once the DA is approved, a Construction Certificate — a CC — is required before works start. The CC is essentially the building permit. It confirms the construction documentation meets the Building Code of Australia and the conditions of the DA, and it can be issued by council or a private certifier.
So the progression is roughly: exempt, DA, or DA plus CC. Working out where your project sits on that scale is one of the most useful early conversations on any heritage project.
Not sure which approval pathway your project needs? Start with an Exploration Package. For $795, Greg looks at your site and its council controls and shows you what is realistically possible before you commit to anything, and the fee is credited if you go ahead with us.