Overview

South Australia has an integrated planning and development system, with several distinct but interrelated parts.

Each of the parts is described in some detail on various pages of this website.

Legislation

The two documents which provide the legislative framework establishing the planning and development system and setting out its statutory procedures are the Development Act 1993 and the associated Development Regulations 1993. The Development Act is the core legislation enacted by the South Australian State Parliament to establish the planning and development system framework and many of the processes required to be followed within that framework (including processes for assessing development applications), while the Regulations provide more of the detail to fill out the framework and are updated from time to time by the Governor (on the advice of the Minister for Urban Development and Planning). The Act and the Regulations are both available online.

Click here to find out more about the Legislation and Regulations.

Planning Strategy

The Planning Strategy provides direction from the State Government on land use and development over the medium term (a period of 10-15 years). Under Section 22 of the Development Act, the Minister for Urban Development and Planning is assigned responsibility for preparing the Planning Strategy on behalf of the State Government, and reporting annually to Parliament about its implementation. The Strategy contains various maps, policies and specific strategies, covering a full range of social, economic and environmental issues.

The land use and development Planning Strategy is integrated with, and should be read in conjunction with other specialist plans, including the Strategic Infrastructure Plan for South Australia, the Housing Plan for South Australia and South Australia’s Greenhouse Strategy. It provides a physical and policy framework to assist in reaching various targets outlined in South Australia’s Strategic Plan. 

There are various volumes of the Planning Strategy covering different geographic regions of the state. Each volume of the Planning Strategy must be updated by the state government at least every five years.

The Planning Strategy is not a 'development assessment' policy document and is not used for assessing specific applications for development. That is the role of Development Plans.

Click here to find out more about the Planning Strategy and to read its various volumes.

Development Plans & Building Rules

Development Plans are key statutory documents in the South Australian planning and development system. They contain the rules that set out what can be done on any piece of land across the State, and the detailed criteria against which development applications will be assessed. Development Plans cover distinct and separate geographic areas of the State. There is a separate Development Plan for each one of the 68 local council areas, plus a handful of other Plans covering areas not situated within local government boundaries. Development Plans outline what sort of developments and land use are and are not envisaged and suitable/allowed for particular zones within each Plan area (eg residential, commercial, industrial), and various objectives, principles and policies further controlling and affecting the design and other aspects of proposed developments. More detail can be found in the Development Plans section. The existing Development Plans are also available online on this site.

Building work is a form of development. The framework for building rules and standards in South Australia is provided by the Development Act 1993 and associated Development Regulations 1993. The main technical documents which are 'called up' under the Act and the Regulations are the Building Code of Australia and the South Australian Housing Code.

Click here to find out more about Development Plans.
Click here to find out more about Building Policy in SA.

Amending Development Plans (DPAs)

Development Plans are regularly amended to reflect updated local council or State Government policies or vision for future development. Amendment occurs through the Development Plan Amendment (DPA) process, a process which can be initiated either by a local council or by the Minister for Urban Development and Planning. The formal process for amending a Development Plan, which includes mandatory public consultation, is detailed in the Amending Development Plans section of this site. Consistency with the Planning Strategy is a key matter taken into account when Development Plans are amended and reviewed. The Minister must ultimately approve all amendments to Development Plans, and can ensure that the Planning Strategy is implemented in this way. All Plan Amendments, once approved, are also referred to the State Parliament's Environment, Resources and Development Committee for review. Once adopted, policies within a DPA are incorporated into an updated ('consolidated') Development Plan for the area.

Click here to find out more about Amending Development Plans (DPAs).

Development Applications

There are about 50,000 development applications lodged in South Australia every year. These range from simple extensions to residential homes through to major projects, such as the expansion of the Olympic Dam mine.

'development' is defined in the Development Act to include:
  • Building work (construction, demolition, alteration, associated excavation/fill)
  • A change in the use of land or buildings
  • The creation of new allotments through land division (including Strata and Community Title division)
  • Cutting, damaging or felling of 'Significant Trees'
  • Specific work in relation to State and Local Heritage Places
  • Prescribed mining operations
  • Other acts or activities in relation to land as declared by the Development Regulations

No development can be undertaken without an appropriate Development Approval being obtained from the relevant authority after an application and assessment process.

Application assessment processes

The processes for making development applications and their assessment are laid out in the Development Act (Sections 32-56A) and Development Regulations. They are summarised on the Development Applications section of this site, and outlined in greater detail in the publication Guide to Development Assessment (PDF 324 KB).

The vast majority of development applications are determined by local councils in their role as assessment authorities. Some specified kinds of applications are determined by an independent Development Assessment Commission (DAC), while a small number of declared major developments are determined by the Governor, on the advice of Cabinet, after going through the Major Developments process, which involves a more detailed environmental assessment process.

An application for approval must be made using a standard official form and lodged with the relevant authority (almost always the local council - the common exception to this is Land Division, where all applications are lodged with the DAC). The relevant authority has the task of:

  • assessing the nature of the proposed development (whether it is complying, non-complying or to be considered 'on merit' as defined under the Development Act and/or in the relevant Development Plan);
  • completing the relevant statutory assessment processes for each of those kinds of development (including whether the application needs to be referred to prescribed bodies or agencies for advice, and whether the public needs to be notified of the application); and
  • after the completion of those processes, deciding whether to issue a development approval.

A Development Approval is made up of at least two separate consents; the most common developments will usually require a 'development plan consent' and a 'building rules consent' before final approval can be granted. If land is being subdivided, a separate 'Land Division consent' is required.  

Appeals against decisions on development applications are heard by a specialist Environment, Resources and Development Court.

Click here to find out more about Development Applications and Assessment.

Guideline Booklets Published by Planning SA