From initial consultation to approval.
Our streamlined approach takes the complexity out of development applications. From your first consultation through to council approval, we handle every detail with professionalism and keep you informed at every stage.
Understanding Your Project
We start with a no-obligation conversation about your project. This consultation is free and designed to help you understand the planning pathway and decide whether to proceed.
The consultation includes discussion of your project goals, property overview and preliminary assessment, explanation of the approval process, indication of costs and timeframes, and discussion of next steps. You should bring the property address, site photos (if available), any existing plans or sketches, and your questions.
Research and Advice
We undertake a comprehensive site assessment of your property and development proposal. Experience has been gained in assessing properties against planning scheme requirements and providing realistic advice on development potential.
We research planning scheme provisions (zones, overlays, codes), site constraints (dimensions, topography, easements), context analysis (surrounding development), approval pathway determination, and variation requirements.
You receive a written feasibility report, assessment of development opportunities and constraints, evaluation of approval prospects, recommendations for moving forward, and a fee proposal with timeline. This typically takes 1-2 weeks from engagement.
Once you’re ready to proceed, we formalize our engagement. This includes a signed service agreement, clear scope of work, project timeline, communication protocols, consultant coordination (if needed), and pre-lodgement meeting arrangement (if beneficial).
Documentation
We prepare all documentation required for your development application. The planning report includes proposal description, planning provision analysis, assessment criteria responses, performance-based arguments, and variation justifications.
Supporting documentation includes site plans and development drawings, survey plans (if required), consultant reports coordination, design details and specifications, and photographic documentation.
Before lodgement, we review all documentation for completeness and consistency, verify council requirements are met, and provide drafts for your review. This typically takes 2-6 weeks depending on complexity
Application Management
We lodge your application and manage it through council assessment. Experience has been gained in liaising with councils and managing applications through the assessment process.
We handle application submission via council portal, council fee payment coordination, regular contact with council planner, progress monitoring, information request responses (if any), and public notification monitoring (impact assessments).
You receive progress updates, notification of issues, copies of council correspondence, and timeline updates. Assessment timeframes are 10-15 business days for code assessable and 30-40+ business days for impact assessable applications.
Securing Approval
We review the decision and ensure you understand requirements. In general terms, approvals come with conditions that must be satisfied before building work can commence.
The decision review includes review of the decision notice, explanation of conditions, compliance pathway advice, and timeline for satisfying conditions. If needed, we can negotiate problematic conditions through assessment, negotiation with council for changes, and documentation of agreed variations.
Ongoing support includes condition compliance advice, building approval guidance, consultant referrals, modification applications (if needed), and extension of approval timeframes.
Timeframes vary based on complexity and council workload. Simple dwelling extensions typically take 2-3 months, new dwelling houses 2-4 months, multi-unit developments 4-6+ months, and subdivisions 3-6+ months from initial consultation to approval.
We provide transparent pricing upfront. Our fee proposal includes a fixed fee for planning services (where possible), task breakdown, payment schedule, and clear exclusions. This includes planning research and analysis, planning report preparation, application lodgement, council liaison, information request responses, updates and communication, and decision review and advice.
Additional costs include council application fees (paid to council), consultant reports (paid to consultants), and major design changes beyond original scope.
Contact us for a free consultation about your project.
