Development Application Services
Preparation, lodgement and management of development applications for residential, commercial, industrial and mixed-use projects throughout Australia.
- Every stage handled in-house, from site assessment through to post-consent conditions
- Applications built around how the assessing council actually assesses them
- Representation at the Land and Environment Court, VCAT and the Queensland Planning and Environment Court
- A straight answer on whether the project is worth pursuing, before you spend on it
Every state runs its own planning system, and every council inside that system applies it in its own way. A development application that would sail through in one local government area can sit for months in the next, on the same set of controls.
Prestige Town Planning prepares and manages development applications with councils across Australia.
Most of our work sits in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and we take on projects in other states as well. Single dwellings and dual occupancies through to multi-unit residential, mixed-use, commercial, industrial, hospitality, retail and change of use.
The outcome is usually decided before lodgement. We assess the site against the controls that apply to it,choose the approval pathway that fits, and build the application to answer the questions the assessing officer is going to ask.
Where an application meets resistance, we don’t hand it to someone else. We run reviews, modifications and appeals, including Section 34 conciliation and Class 1 hearings. Consent isn’t the finish line either: we manage construction and occupation certificates through to final sign-off.
And if the project doesn’t stack up, you’ll hear that on the first call. We don’t bill for work you don’t need.
Why Choose Us for Your Development Application
98% Approval Success Rate
Nearly all DAs we lodge get approved. That's the product of careful pre-lodgement strategy, not a lucky run.
One team, end-to-end
You deal with the same planner from the first phone call to the final certificate. We coordinate the other consultants an application needs so you're not managing six suppliers and hoping their documents agree with each other.
Applications prepared for the way councils assess them
Most delay happens after lodgement, in requests for further information. We front-load that work: constraints identified before the design is fixed, variations justified in writing, and the objections an assessing officer is likely to raise answered inside the application rather than three months later.
Honest reads, not over-promises
If your site can't support what you're trying to build, you'll hear it on the first call. We'd rather lose a brief than walk a client into a refusal.
Our Development Application Services
Everything below is part of the same engagement. Most projects need several of them.
Approval pathway assessment
Not every project needs a development application. We check the proposal against the exempt and complying development provisions first, and tell you where it sits: exempt, complying development, a full DA, or whatever the equivalent is called in the state your site sits in. Choosing the wrong pathway is one of the most expensive mistakes available in this process.
Development application preparation and lodgement
Full preparation and lodgement of DAs under the relevant planning instrument: zoning and permissibility assessment, site and context analysis, overlay and constraint mapping, compliance assessment against the applicable controls, and the argument for why consent should be granted. Lodged through the NSW Planning Portal, or the equivalent lodgement system in the relevant state.
Statements of Environmental Effects and planning reports
The document that carries the application. A Statement of Environmental Effects in NSW, or the planning report or submission the relevant state requires, written to address the specific matters the consent authority has to consider rather than as a generic template.
Variation and justification writing
Written justification where a proposal departs from a development standard, including Clause 4.6 variation requests in NSW. A variation that isn’t properly argued is one of the more common reasons an otherwise reasonable application gets refused.
Change of use applications
Consent for a new use of an existing building or tenancy: food and drink premises, medical centres, childcare and education establishments, places of public worship and assembly, recreation facilities, licensed venues, and retail or industrial changes. We handle the planning approval, including the parking, hours, waste, acoustic and amenity issues that come with it.
Signage and advertising approvals
Business identification signage, promotional signage and major or large-format signage, assessed against the applicable exempt and complying development provisions and individual signage controls. We also run multi-site signage programmes where a brand needs the same approach applied consistently across different councils.
Section 4.55 modifications and amendments to consent
Modifications to development consents you already hold, secondary consent matters, deletion or amendment of conditions that don’t work in practice, and extensions or renewals of an approval before it lapses. Section 4.55 in NSW, Section 72 amendments in Victoria, and the equivalent provisions elsewhere.
Reviews, appeals and court representation
Section 8.2 reviews of determination, Class 1 appeals and Section 34 conciliation in the NSW Land and Environment Court, VCAT appeals in Victoria, and Planning and Environment Court proceedings in Queensland. We also advise on whether an appeal is worth running before you commit to one.
Not sure which service you need?
Most people calling us can describe the project but not the pathway. That’s normal, and it’s the part we work out for you. Tell us the site and what you want to do with it.
Our DA Process Explained
We don’t just submit DAs. We manage the journey from early planning advice through to final compliance and beyond. Here’s how it runs for Sydney projects.
Site
Assessment
We check the zone, the overlays and the clauses of the planning instrument that apply to your site, and confirm what's permissible, what's restricted and what's realistically achievable.
Planning
Advice
With the controls mapped, we set the approval strategy and flag the issues that could slow your project before they cost time or money.
Application
Preparation
We prepare the planning documentation, coordinate the supporting consultants, and lodge with the relevant council or panel. Then we keep it moving through assessment.
Certification &
Coordination
Once consent is granted, we coordinate the handover into the certification stage and work through the conditions attached to the approval.
Post-Approval
Support
Designs change and conditions get tested. We stay across the project after the consent is in your hands, including modifications where the build moves on from the approval.
We Specialise in DAs for
- Developers pursuing multi-unit residential, mixed-use, commercial or industrial projects
- Business operators opening, relocating, expanding or fitting out premises, including hospitality, retail, medical, childcare, education and fitness
- Commercial property owners and investors testing what a site can support
- Architects and designers who want the council pathway managed while they focus on the design
- Property owners planning a dwelling, dual occupancy, extension or secondary dwelling
- Buyers doing planning due diligence before they exchange
If you’re still at the “is this even worth pursuing” stage, that’s the cheapest point in the whole process to get an answer. Ask before the site is bought, not after.
Proven Results That Speak for Themselves
With hundreds of successful projects across Australia, our numbers say it all.
Development Application FAQs
Do I need a development application for my project?
Not always. Some work is exempt development and needs no approval, and some qualifies as complying development, which is a faster certificate-based pathway. Anything that doesn’t meet those standards needs a development application. Prestige Town Planning assesses which pathway your project falls into before any documents are prepared.
What's included in your development application services?
We handle the pathway assessment, the planning case, the Statement of Environmental Effects or equivalent planning report, coordination of the other consultants involved, lodgement, and the management of council through assessment to determination. Modifications, reviews and appeals after determination are handled by the same team.
How long does a development application take?
Assessment timeframes vary by council, by pathway and by the complexity of the proposal. The bigger variable is usually the applicant’s side: applications that arrive incomplete or unjustified attract requests for further information, and each round adds weeks. The pre-lodgement work exists to reduce that.
What does a development application cost?
There are three separate costs: the council’s lodgement and assessment fees, the other consultants your application requires, and the planning fee. Prestige Town Planning scopes each application and quotes a fixed fee before work starts, so the planning cost is known upfront.
Where do you work?
Prestige Town Planning works with councils across Australia. The bulk of our work runs through New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, covering development applications in NSW, planning permits in Victoria, and material change of use and reconfiguring a lot applications in Queensland. We take on projects in other states too. Our office is on the NSW Central Coast, and work outside the local area is run remotely, with site visits, council meetings and court appearances as required.
We've already had a DA refused. Can you help?
Yes. Depending on the reasons for refusal, the options are usually a Section 8.2 review of the determination, an amended application, or an appeal. Appeal windows are strict and start running from the determination date, so get advice quickly rather than waiting.
Do you only work on large developments?
No. We work on single dwellings, dual occupancies and small commercial fit-outs alongside multi-unit residential, mixed-use and larger commercial projects. The process is the same, the scope of documentation is not.
Do you work alongside our architect or designer?
Yes, and it works better when we’re involved early. Design decisions made before the planning controls are checked are the most common cause of expensive redraws. We brief the design against the controls up front and coordinate the documentation from there.
How do we get started?
Call and describe the site and what you want to do with it. You’ll get an initial read on whether it’s achievable and which approval pathway applies, and if it’s worth going further we’ll scope the work and quote a fixed fee.
Tell us about the site and we'll tell you where it stands
One conversation is usually enough to know whether a project is achievable, which approval pathway it belongs in, and what getting there involves.