There are six easy steps to preparing a good DA:
- Talk to Council staff about controls, policies and standards to be addressed
- Consider all the design issues
- Prepare all of the documentation for your application including plans and drawings
- Prepare a Statement of Environmental Effects and other supporting documents
- Complete the development application form and checklist
- Submit your application
More detailed information on each of these steps can be found in Council’s Development Application Preparation Guide (2.34mB PDF).
Upon lodgement of your application you will be able to track the progress of your application by way of Council's Property Enquiry and DA Tracker Service.
New Electronic Lodgement System - No Hard Copies Required for Most Applications
From 3 August 2015 Council will no longer require hard copy documents to be included with most development and construction related applications.
A new electronic lodgement system will apply for the following application types:
- Development Applications
- Section 4.55 Applications
- Combined Development Applications/Construction Certificates
- Complying Development Certificates
- Construction Certificates
- Subdivision Construction Certificates
- Works as Executed Plans (WAX)
- Occupation Certificates
- Section 138 Roads Act Driveway and Public Road Applications
- Section 68 Sewer and Water Applications
- Part V Applications
N.B. Applications for Strata Subdivision and Subdivision Certificates will be excluded from these requirements until NSW Land and Property Information provide a system for accepting approvals from councils in an electronic format. Applicants for these applications will still need to lodge hard copy documents.
The new electronic lodgement system is part of Council's program to reduce costs for applicants and improve the efficiency of its development assessment processes.
The reduction of printing of hard copies is also a great win for the environment, with less trees to be cut down, resulting in less CO2 emissions.
How to Prepare Electronic Documents
It is vital for the efficiency of Council's new electronic lodgement system that all electronic documents are prepared in a consistent format.
Please ensure that you read and complete the Electronic Lodgement Checklist (136kB PDF) as part of the lodgement of your application. Incomplete or incorrectly formatted documents will not be accepted by Council officers.
How to Lodge Electronically
You will now be able provide applications to Council via the following more convenient and affordable options:
A new facility on Council’s website will allow applicants to upload their electronic documentation directly to Council’s internet site. After uploading, you will be given an email to advise of the receipt of the loaded documents. At this point the application has not been formally lodged, and Council staff will then conduct the pre-lodgement validation check.
As part of the validation check you may be contacted by Council officers to ensure that all appropriate details have been provided in a suitable form to be lodged. Once the validation is complete, the application will be formally lodged (if paying by Credit Card) and you will be sent a further email notification providing you with the details for payment.
Payment of fees can occur through a secure web portal process whereby you can contact Council by telephone and provide your credit card details to Council staff.
Alternatively you can choose to pay the fees by mail or over the counter, but this may result in a delay in Council’s processing of the application.
N.B. If your application is Integrated Development (see A10 of the Development Application form) a separate cheque is required per Government Department at time of lodgement.
Please click here to use this lodgement option.
Council already has an established process for regular customers allowing them to email their proposed DA documents for a pre-lodgement check by officers of Council's Development Assessment or Building Sections.
This service will be extended for the commencement of the new electronic requirements. Applicants seeking to use this service can email their applications to the address eDA@tweed.nsw.gov.au. File size limitations apply to emails, so this method may not be appropriate for larger applications.
Payment of fees can occur through a secure web portal process whereby you can contact Council by telephone and provide your credit card details to Council staff.
Alternatively you can choose to pay the fees by mail or over the counter, but this may result in a delay in Council’s processing of the application.
N.B. If your application is Integrated Development (see A10 of the Development Application form) a separate cheque is required per Government Department at time of lodgement.
Applications can still be submitted to Council by post, but must be provided in electronic formats on CDs or USB devices, along with a cheque for payment, or a request to pay by credit card over the phone.
Council's postal address is:
Tweed Shire Council
PO Box 816
MURWILLUMBAH NSW 2484
Applicants can visit Council's office to lodge applications in electronic formats (CDs or USB devices) and the correct fee can be calculated and paid at:
Murwillumbah Civic Centre
10 - 14 Tumbulgum Road
MURWILLUMBAH NSW 2484
Office Hours: 8.30am to 4.15pm Monday to Friday
Please note that payment can only be made after a pre-lodgement check of the submission is conducted and the application is lodged.
For those people who don't have the capacity to lodge the applications in an electronic format, Council will accept the hard copy document lodgement at its Administrative Office in Murwillumbah, but there will be an additional fee to cover the costs of converting the documents to electronic format.
New Electronic Application Approvals and Determinations
From 3 August 2015, Council will also cease issuing hard copies of approvals and determination documentation and introduce a new system of electronically stamped and authorised documents.
Once an application is determined, an email will be sent to the applicant, providing a link that will allow the applicant to download the digitally signed determination documents.
Further Checklists to Guide Application Lodgements
Council has also prepared a series of DA Checklists for the main development types. Council expects both applicants and its counter staff to thoroughly review the submission requirements for each type of development and ensure that the relevant checklist has been completed.
Please click on the headings below to view the desired information...
The fee for processing your development application is based on the type of works proposed, and may also involve the estimated cost of any building works.
Additional fees may also be required for:
- the advertising and/or notification of persons who may be affected by your proposal;
- if your application is integrated development;
- if you choose to lodge a combined development application/construction certificate; and
- if you are seeking other accompanying Council approvals, such as Section 138 of the Roads Act (driveway, road openings) and Section 68 of the Local Government Act (sewerage, water, stormwater permits).
Please refer to our Planning, Development and Building Application Fees Document (105kB PDF) to view the current range of fees for all the main development, subdivision and construction certificate lodgement fees.
You may also wish to work out the total fee payable for your development application by accessing our DA Fee Calculator.
The Calculator is a ready reckoner for the payable fees. It is strongly suggested that you check with Council staff prior to lodging your DA, to confirm that you will be paying the right fee. You can do this by ringing Council staff on 02 6670 2400 or 1300 292 872, or send an email to tsc@tweed.nsw.gov.au requesting a "Development Application Fee Calculation". You must tell us what type of work is proposed and the cost of the proposed development.
Clause 255 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 identifies how a fee based on ‘estimated cost’ is determined. The Council will accept the applicants’ genuine estimate of the completed cost unless it is significantly understated. If that is the case Council will make a genuine estimate of the completed costs associated with the construction and preparation of the building for its purpose including plant, fixtures and equipment and/or the construction costs of carrying out of a work, cost of BASIX and/or Bushfire prone land compliance and/or the demolition cost of a building or work, as it applies to the application.
Special Note for Part 3A Major Projects and Part 4 Joint Regional Planning Panel Applications
A new definition of ‘capital investment value’ (CIV) has been included in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 (the Regulation) to provide greater certainty as to what items should be included and excluded when calculating the CIV for a project.
From 7 May 2010, this definition is to be used when considering whether Schedule 1 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Major Development) 2005 (MD SEPP) identifies a proposal as a project to which Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) applies or if it is an application to be determined by a Joint Regional Planning Panel (Regional Panel). The definition is also to be used to determine the fees payable for an application under Part 3A of the EP&A Act. It is also relevant to certain other types of development and actions covered by SEPPs that reference the term. However it does not apply for the purpose of calculating an application fee for a Part 4 development application, which continues to use ‘cost of works’ (see Clause 246 of the Regulation). On 7 May 2010, the State Environmental Planning Policy Amendment (Capital Investment Value) 2010 (the CIV SEPP) amended several State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) to ensure the definition of CIV is consistent throughout the NSW planning system.
The amended definition is included in clause 3 of the Regulation, as follows:
Capital investment value of a development or project includes all costs necessary to establish and operate the project, including the design and construction of buildings, structures, associated infrastructure and fixed or mobile plant and equipment, other than the following costs:
- amounts payable, or the cost of land dedicated or any other benefit provided, under a condition imposed under Division 6 or 6A of Part 4 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act or a planning agreement under that Division
- costs relating to any part of the development or project that is the subject of a separate development consent or project approval
- land costs (including any costs of marketing and selling land)
- GST (as defined by A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth).
The main change to the definition is a clear direction that the following items should be excluded when calculating the CIV for a development:
- Development contributions - it is not appropriate to include development contribution charges in calculating the capital investment value. These charges are considered an external cost that should not contribute to the value of the development or be included for the purpose of calculating the project fees or other developer charges
- Costs relating to any part of the development or project that is, or will be, the subject of a separate development consent or project approval – the capital investment value of the development must only include those works that are subject to the current application, not prior or subsequent applications.
For further information regarding this new definition of “Capital Investment Value” please refer to Planning Circular PS 10-008 on the NSW Department of Planning’s web site www.planning.nsw.gov.au
If you understate the estimated cost of works and your application fees are underpaid the appropriate shortfalls in fees MUST be paid before the application is determined.
Council calculates the cost of works on the estimated ‘market price’ for the completed project. This may not necessarily reflect the actual cost of the development to the applicant, for example, an applicant may source materials free or second hand and use their own labour (owner-builder).
Council uses building cost indicators compiled by professional organisations such as the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors’ (AIBS) Guide to Building Costs.
Building cost estimates for larger developments should be qualified by a registered quantity surveyor.
Please click on the item below for the desired information...
If you wish to modify an approved development application, you will need lodge an application under Section 4.55 of the Environmental Planning Assessment Act, 1979. The lodgement fees for these applications can be confirmed by either visiting Council’s customer service counters at Murwillumbah or Tweed Heads, ringing Council staff on 02 6670 2400, or send an email to tsc@tweed.nsw.gov.au requesting a "Section 4.55 Application Fee Calculation".
Download the Section 4.55 Application Form (272kB PDF).
If your Development Application is refused, you may consider a further request to Council for a Review of Determination under Section 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. This request must be in the form of a written submission to Council, outlining the planning grounds to support the review of the DA determination. You must submit your Section 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 Review request to Council within 12 months of the refusal date (or before an appeal against the determination is disposed by the Land and Environment Court.
A Section 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 Review allows the application to be amended, as long as the development remains substantially the same as the original application. Council may need to notify your neighbours and/or advertise the proposed amendments. Fees apply for the request as well as any notification and/or advertising. The lodgement fees for these requests can be confirmed by either visiting Council’s customer service counters at Murwillumbah or Tweed Heads, ringing Council staff on 02 6670 2400, or send an email to tsc@tweed.nsw.gov.au requesting a "Section 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 Request Fee Calculation".
Separate fees apply for:
- Application for a Construction Certificate
- Application for Compliance Certificate
- Application for Occupancy and Complying Development Certificate
Please refer to our Planning, Development and Building Application Fees Document (105kB PDF) to view the current range of fees for all the main development, subdivision and construction certificate lodgement fees.
As part of it efforts to improve the efficiency of its DA services, it is necessary for Council officers to be strict in determining the quality and completeness of DAs to be submitted. Poor quality applications will be rejected.
Further information can be found by downloading the Quality Control of DAs Fact Sheet (24kB PDF).