Council switches on to digital Development Applications

If you want to know about housing or business developments in your area you will soon be able to find out at the click of a button as Hawkesbury Council gets deeper into digital.

Residents will be able to see in real-time what developments are proposed in their areas.

The online platform will also allow homeowners and businesses to lodge applications from their home or office.

From January 1, DAs can only be lodged via the NSW Planning Portal and not directly with Council.

The Council has partnered with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment to provide digital services to the community on the NSW Planning Portal at www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au so Development Applications can be submitted online.

The Council has been successfully accepting Development Application (DA) lodgements through the NSW Planning Portal since May.

If you can’t lodge digitally from your home or office, the Council has computers in a COVID-safe environment with wipes and sanitiser available for use at their Administration Building, 366 George Street, Windsor.

From January 1, online lodgement via the NSW Planning Portal will include lodgement for:

• Construction Certificates

• Complying Development Certificates

• Occupation Certificates

• Subdivision Certificates.

The NSW Planning Portal can be accessed at www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au

A video animation about Online DA lodgement is available at https://pp.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/onlineDA

How to Lodge

1. Register for a NSW Planning Portal account to start your application

2. Log in to complete the online application form. You will need to submit a Statement of Environmental Effects and a Cost Estimate Report. You may be required to submit further documents to support your development application.

3. If you are having difficulty using the Online DA Service, please contact the ePlanning support team at eplanning@planning.nsw.gov.au

To find out more about Development Applications, you can also go to Council’s website www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au and click on the Plan and Build tab or go to the direct link www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-build

You will find Council’s Application Tracker in the Plan and Build section under the current-and-past-applications tab or use the direct link

www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-build/current-and-past-applications/da-tracking