Build a single house — NSW, complying development certificate
The fast path for the same physical house: a registered certifier checks the design against fixed codes and issues a certificate. No merit assessment, no neighbour submissions, no determination meeting.
longest dependent chain
across 1 bodies
scheduling or queue, not assessment
vs. 81 if run end-to-end
Where the time goes
Critical-path days only. Steps that run alongside others are real work but do not lengthen the process, so counting them here would overstate the prize.
| assessment | 34d | Someone is genuinely evaluating the merits. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| applicant | 33d | Waiting on the applicant to supply or fix something. | |
| statutory | 7d | A legislated period that must elapse regardless of readiness. | |
| scheduling | 5d | Waiting for a person or committee to become available. |
5 of 79 elapsed days are spent waiting for a person or a meeting rather than for a judgement to be formed. Removing that time changes no assessment standard and lowers no bar -- it is the cost of scheduling alone.
The process, step by step
Applies when: The proposal meets every standard in the complying development codes and the land is not excluded from the pathway.
| # | Step | Who | Why it waits | Clock | Typical | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Prepare plans to the code
application
Design must comply with every applicable development standard; a single non-compliance sends the project back to the merit pathway. |
— | applicant | — | 30 estimate | — |
| 2 |
Engage a registered certifier
application
Any registered certifier may be engaged. This is the structural difference from the DA pathway: a market rather than a single queue. after
Prepare plans to the code 46d slack
|
Registered certifier (NSW) | applicant | — | 3 estimate | — |
| 3 |
Notice to neighbours before work starts
notification
After the certificate is issued, neighbours within 20 metres of the lot boundary are given written notice before any work commences. There is no submission period that can alter the outcome. after
Assessment against the codes and issue of the certificate 15d slack
|
Registered certifier (NSW) | statutory | 7 | 7 published | — |
| 4 |
Assessment against the codes and issue of the certificate
certification
A compliance check against fixed standards rather than a judgement on the merits. after
Engage a registered certifier 22d slack
|
Registered certifier (NSW) | assessment | 20 | 24 published | Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) |
| 5 |
Appoint principal certifier
application
after
Assessment against the codes and issue of the certificate 20d slack
|
Registered certifier (NSW) | applicant | — | 2 estimate | — |
| 6 | Mandatory critical stage inspections inspection | Registered certifier (NSW) | scheduling | — | 5 estimate | — |
| 7 | Occupation certificate certification | Registered certifier (NSW) | assessment | — | 10 estimate | — |
on the critical path scheduling/queue = delay not caused by the assessment itself
Machine-flagged questions
These are produced automatically from the dependency graph. They are questions for a practitioner, not findings. Each one needs a person who has run this process to say whether the constraint is real.
The same body asked more than once
- nsw-private-certifier (certification) appears at Assessment against the codes and issue of the certificate, Occupation certificate. Could these be a single sign-off?
Sources
- State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (NSW) — structure of the pathway
- Planning performance (complying development certificates, Dwelling House (CDC) average assessment days), NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/data-and-resources/planning-performance, accessed 2026-11-09
- Complying development (updated 26 June 2026), NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/the-planning-system/development-assessment/planning-approval-pathways/complying-development, accessed 2026-11-09
- What to tell your neighbours (updated 23 March 2026), NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/the-planning-system/development-assessment/planning-approval-pathways/complying-development/what-to-tell-your-neighbours, accessed 2026-11-09
Something wrong here?
This page is wrong in some way -- every page like it is. If you have run
this process, the most useful thing you can do is tell us which step took
longer than we say and why. Edit
data/processes/nsw-dwelling-cdc.toml and open a pull request, or
send us the correction.