Complying Development Certificates in Sydney

Granny flats and secondary dwellings

Secondary dwellings are among the most common CDC enquiries we receive. Where the Low-Rise Housing Diversity Code or another complying development code applies, a CDC can combine planning and construction approval for a class 1 granny flat.

Site constraints, setbacks, floor area and private open space still have to be assessed from a complete application. See our granny flats project page for the typical certification path after the CDC.

New homes

Some new class 1 homes qualify as complying development. Others need a council development application first, then a construction certificate. If your new home is on the CDC path, Exclusive Certifiers assesses the complete pack within class 1 and 10 scope.

Alterations and additions

Rear extensions, first-floor additions and many class 1 renovations can proceed as complying development where the codes allow. Heritage, flooding, bushfire and the existing approval history commonly decide whether a CDC or a DA-plus-CC path applies.

Swimming pools

Pool building work is typically class 10b. Where the codes allow, a CDC can cover the pool and related barrier work. Barrier compliance and inspection hold points still follow the approval.

Class 1 and 10 scope

CDC assessment is offered for class 1 and 10 buildings. Mid-rise Pattern Book development uses a development application pathway and is not sold here as a certification service.

Why an application can be returned as incomplete

A CDC can be assessed only when the required information has been provided. Missing surveys, constraint reports or supporting engineering documents are common reasons an application cannot proceed.

This page does not determine whether your site is eligible. Eligibility is site specific: flood, bushfire, heritage, lot conditions and the drawings themselves all matter. An enquiry is not an approval, a probability score or a free professional assessment.

Amended complying development certificates

If the work changes after a CDC has been issued, an amended CDC may be required before that changed work is carried out. The amended proposal still has to be complying development. An amendment cannot be used to approve work the codes do not allow.

Pattern Book CDC pathway

A NSW Housing Pattern Book CDC is a separate pathway available only where an endorsed low-rise pattern is used and the Pattern Book requirements are met. It sits after the everyday CDC project types above — not ahead of them.

Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy can affect permissibility and development standards. LMR is not itself an approval. The Pattern Book is a separate design and approval pathway. They can interact on a site, but they are not the same policy.

An eligible Pattern Book CDC application must be determined within 10 days once all required information has been provided. A seven-day neighbour-notification period applies before the certificate can be issued.

What you receive

Where the proposal is complying development and the assessment supports issue, you receive a complying development certificate. That certificate is the construction approval for the complying work. It does not guarantee that every variation or later change will also be complying development.

Responsibilities

The applicant supplies a complete pack. Independent surveyors, designers and engineers prepare their documents. The certifier assesses whether the submitted proposal meets the relevant codes for class 1 and 10 work. Owners still appoint a principal certifier before work starts and obtain an occupation certificate before occupation.