Pre-lodgement advice

The City's planning pre-lodgement advice service is aimed at providing potential applicants with the opportunity to obtain written advice from planning officers or alternatively to meet with planning officers regarding their proposal, identify key areas of concern, and gain an understanding of the City’s development application process.

What is pre-lodgement advice?

The City provides a pre-lodgement advice service to provide assistance to customers who are intending to lodge a development application with the City.  

This service is aimed at providing potential applicants with the opportunity to obtain written advice from planning officers or alternatively to meet with planning officers regarding their proposal, identify key areas of concern, and gain an understanding of the City’s development application process.

Planning applicants and agents often request advice on whether a particular proposal is likely to be successful. Whilst the City will not be able to advise whether a proposal will be supported or not, this service will enable the Planning team to provide advice on individual aspects of a proposal.

The service will be able to identify improvements if needed to a proposal prior to lodging a development application and can assist customers by providing advice which can save time and money by providing detailed information relating to the proposed development.   

Whilst the outcome of a development application cannot be guaranteed, it is more likely to succeed if it is well prepared, aligns with the City’s planning framework and properly addresses and responds to relevant issues identified at pre-lodgement stage. This should also ensure the quicker delivery of decisions, time and cost savings and higher quality developments. 

What doesn’t the pre-lodgement advice service do?

The pre-lodgement advice service does not apply to existing development applications or to applications for review that are currently being considered by State Administrative Tribunal (SAT).

The pre-lodgement advice service is provided for the City to provide specific answers raised by customers prior to the lodgement of a development application. This service is not a substitute for seeking professional advice on your proposal and will not be able to provide specific technical advice relating to design, architectural, traffic or civil engineering aspect of a design.

The pre-lodgement service is not a full assessment of a proposal and responses by the planning team are limited to specific questions raised regarding your proposal. 

The planning team will not undertake a full assessment and advise whether a proposal meets the City's Planning Framework or not.  A full assessment of the proposal is undertaken when a formal development application is lodged with the City.

Applicants who are unsure about preparing a development application are advised to consult with an independent, suitably qualified planning professional. Details of town planning consultants can be found on the Planning Institute of Australia’s website.

What do I need to provide to submit a pre-lodgement advice request?

The form requires customers to provide information relating to the proposed development including:

  • Type of development
  • Cost of development
  • Development address
  • Proposed development details
  • Preferred method of advice (Written advice or Meeting).

Customers are also required to attach relevant documents such as site plans, floor plans, elevations, overshadowing diagrams etc. The greater level of detail submitted by customers will enable planning officers to provide more detailed planning advice on their proposal. The City will assess the information provided against the City’s planning framework and provide this to the customer in writing or via a meeting as requested.

How much and how long does it take?

Pre-development advice is a free of charge service.

The City may take up to 10 business days to review and respond to your request for advice. Complex requests may require increased assessment timeframes; in these instances the City will keep you informed of progress and advise when you can expect to receive a full response.

How can I lodge a pre-lodgement advice request?

All requests for pre-lodgement advice are submitted through the City’s website by completing a pre-lodgement advice form.

Ready to lodge a pre-lodgement planning advice request?
Click here