Complying development certificates, for a clinic
The fast lane through NSW planning, when your tenancy qualifies. And the trap of assuming it does.
The short answer
If your tenancy qualifies, this is the difference between opening in four months and opening in nine. If it doesn’t, discovering that late is one of the more expensive things that can happen to a clinic project.
Key points
- A CDC combines planning and construction approval into one certificate.
- Issued by council or a registered certifier, usually in weeks rather than months.
- It’s all or nothing: fail one development standard and you need a DA instead.
- Establish whether you qualify before signing a lease, not after.
- It exists in NSW. Other states have different fast-track pathways or none.
If your tenancy qualifies, this is the difference between opening in four months and opening in nine. If it doesn’t, discovering that late is one of the more expensive things that can happen to a clinic project.
What a complying development certificate is
A complying development certificate is a combined planning and construction approval issued under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, usually just called the Codes SEPP.
It merges two things that are normally separate. A development application deals with whether the use is permitted; a construction certificate deals with whether the building work complies. A CDC does both at once, and it can be issued by a registered certifier rather than council.
No notification of neighbours. No council assessment officer forming a view. No committee. If your proposal meets every one of the development standards in the relevant code, it is approved because it complies, not because somebody decided it should be.
Why a CDC is faster than a DA
A development application is a merit assessment. Council weighs your proposal against the planning controls and against submissions, and reasonable people can disagree about the outcome. That takes as long as it takes.
Complying development is a compliance check. You either meet the standards or you don’t, and a certifier can determine it in a fraction of the time. For a clinic fitout the difference is frequently months, and months are rent.
The all-or-nothing problem
This is the part that catches people, and it is worth being blunt about.
You have to meet every applicable development standard. Every one. Fail a single control, by any margin, and the pathway is closed. Not negotiated down, not varied by agreement. Closed. You lodge a development application instead and start the longer process, having spent time and consultant fees establishing that you could not use the shortcut.
Which is why the useful sequence is: check qualification first, design second. Not the other way round.
What tends to disqualify a clinic
The controls vary by code and by zone, and this isn’t a checklist you can rely on, but the recurring themes are:
- Zoning. Complying development is only available in specified zones, and a health services facility is not permitted everywhere.
- Land constraints. Heritage items and conservation areas, flood-prone land, bushfire-prone land, contaminated land and acid sulfate soils commonly exclude a site.
- Car parking. Where the code sets a parking requirement and the site cannot meet it, there is no mechanism to reduce it under complying development.
- Hours of operation. Extended or after-hours operation frequently falls outside the standards.
- The scale of the works, and whether they touch the building's structure or external appearance.
How this fits the rest of the program
Where a CDC is available it replaces both the development application and the construction certificate. You still need an occupation certificate at the end before anyone can use the building.
Where it’s not available, the sequence is a development application, then a construction certificate, then an occupation certificate.
Either way the classification question sits underneath it. Which class your tenancy becomes is assessed by the certifier, and a facility that reaches Class 9a brings construction requirements that a complying development pathway may not accommodate, and that is hospital and day surgery territory.
Other states
Complying development is a New South Wales mechanism. Victoria and Queensland have their own structures, and they do not map neatly onto it. Victoria separates the planning permit from the building permit; Queensland assesses a material change of use as either code or impact assessable, and code assessable is the faster of the two without being the same thing as a CDC.
The practical advice
Ask a certifier whether your intended use, in that zone, on that site, with that scope, is capable of complying development. Ask before heads of agreement if you can. It is a short question with a large answer, and it is the single biggest lever on a NSW clinic program.
The standards and the codes are revised. Confirm the current position rather than relying on this page.
Sources and further reading
The Codes SEPP and its development standards are revised. Confirm the current position with a registered certifier for your specific site and scope.
Where development applications and complying development certificates are lodged and tracked in New South Wales.
The National Construction Code: building classification, fire separation, egress, sanitary provisions and access.
Source for AS/NZS 4815 and 4187 reprocessing, AS 1428.1 access and AS 1668.2 ventilation. The standards themselves are purchased, not free.
Questions
What is a complying development certificate?
A combined planning and construction approval issued under the Codes SEPP in New South Wales. It can be issued by council or a registered certifier, and because it’s a compliance check rather than a merit assessment it is usually determined far faster than a development application.
Can a medical centre fitout be complying development?
Sometimes, depending on the zone, the site and the scope of works. It’s not available everywhere and a health services facility is not permitted in every zone. Whether you qualify should be established before you sign a lease, because it can be the difference of several months.
What happens if I fail one development standard?
The pathway closes entirely. Complying development is all or nothing: there’s no mechanism to vary or negotiate a standard, so failing one control by any margin means lodging a development application instead.
Is a CDC faster than a DA?
Materially, yes. A development application is a merit assessment with notification and council consideration; a CDC is a compliance check a certifier can determine. For a clinic fitout the difference is often months, and months are rent.
Do I still need an occupation certificate?
Yes. A CDC replaces the development application and construction certificate, but an occupation certificate is still required before the building can be occupied.
Send us the floor plan
A site assessment tells you what the tenancy can take and what it will cost to get there, ideally before you have signed for it.