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Phase One

The first phase of South Australia’s new planning system has gone live in the outback.

On 1 July 2019, the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 became operational in outback areas of South Australia, revoking the Development Act 1993 and three land not within a council area development plans.

The implementation of Phase One is the first milestone in delivering a new planning and development system across South Australia by July 2020.

See the implementation progress of Phase Two for rural council areas with small towns and settlements and Phase Three for urban councils and councils with regional towns and cities.

Areas impacted

Phase One affects outback areas referred to as Land Not Within a Council Area (LNWCA).

Outback South Australia comprises 70% of the entire state and includes our coastal waters, parts of the coastline and our most arid regions. Outback communities play an important role in driving our economy, particularly in mining, food production and energy generation.

Planning matters in these areas are managed by the state government. This means that Phase One will have minimal impact to councils and most private planning professionals.

View a map of Land Not Within a Council Area included in Phase One (PDF, 634 KB)

How you may be affected

 

Council planners and private planners cannot be the relevant planning authority for applications in the outback.

The relevant planning authority for all applications in the outback is always the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP), unless the application is ‘impact assessed’, in which case the Minister for Planning is the authority.

All development applications in the outback seeking planning consent will be assessed against the Planning and Design Code. The Planning and Design Code has replaced three country development plans as the single set of planning rules for outback areas.

Read the Planning and Design Code for the Outback (PDF, 3425 KB)

Zones and overlays of the Planning and Design Code are published as spatial layers in the South Australian Property and Planning Atlas (SAPPA). Applicants in the outback can search for their property in the SAPPA and see what zones and overlays apply.

View locations of zones and overlays in the SAPPA

The Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017 have also replaced the Development Regulations 2008 to help guide the assessment of all applications lodged under the PDI Act.

Read the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017

Read the Key changes to the PDI (General) Regulations 2017 based on feedback received during consultation (PDF, 2842 KB)

Applications that were lodged prior to 1 July 2019 and are yet to reach a decision will continue to be assessed against the Development Act 1993.

If you are helping an applicant prepare an application in the outback, the process for lodging an application has changed.

All applications under the PDI Act must be lodged with the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP). You can either lodge digitally through the SA Planning Portal, by mail or in person. Land division applications may still be lodged through the online EDALA system.

Learn more about how to lodge an application

All lodged applications are published in the Public Register on the SA Planning Portal once the relevant fees have been paid and the application has formally entered the assessment process.

New statutory forms must be used when lodging an application under the PDI Act:

Applications that were lodged prior to 1 July 2019 and are yet to reach a decision will continue to be assessed against the Development Act 1993 and the relevant Development Plan.

The introduction of the Planning and Design Code to outback areas changes the way that referrals work.

The Planning and Design Code sets out cases where referrals to agencies need to be undertaken, which are often linked to spatial overlays.

View Planning and Design Code overlays in the South Australian Property and Planning Atlas

Under the PDI Act, all referrals are now for direction. This means that legislated referral bodies can direct a relevant authority to either approve or refuse an application with conditions.

Referral periods range between 20 and 30 business days and are set out in the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017.

All council and private planning professionals assessing PDI Act applications must first be accredited under the new Accredited Professional Scheme.

While private planners and council planners cannot be the relevant planning authority for applications in the outback, they may still take the opportunity to become accredited now for the next phase of the new planning system.

The Minister for Planning and the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) are not required to become accredited. Despite this, members of the SCAP have become accredited in the spirit of the scheme.

If you are a private building professional, you may be engaged to assess an outback application for building consent.

Building professionals who are accredited under the new Accredited Professionals Scheme can be a relevant building authority for outback applications, as well as the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP). SCAP can choose to refer a building assessment to a private building professional or undertake the assessment itself.

All applications seeking building consent must be assessed under the new building rules determined by the PDI Act, which include:

New statutory forms must be used during the building assessment process:

Applications that were lodged prior to 1 July 2019 and are yet to reach a decision will continue to be assessed against the Development Act 1993.

If you are helping an applicant prepare an application in the outback, the process for lodging an application has changed.

All applications under the PDI Act must be lodged with the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP). You can either lodge digitally through the SA Planning Portal, by mail or in person. Land division applications may still be lodged through the online EDALA system.

Learn more about how to lodge an application

All lodged applications are published in the Public Register on the SA Planning Portal once the relevant fees have been paid and the application has formally entered the assessment process.

New statutory forms must be used when lodging an application under the PDI Act:

Applications that were lodged prior to 1 July 2019 and are yet to reach a decision will continue to be assessed against the Development Act 1993.

Building professionals making decisions on outback applications under the PDI Act must be accredited under the new Accredited Professional Scheme. Building professionals who are providing advice to another building authority must also first become accredited.

If you are thinking about a development in an outback area, there are new planning rules that may apply to your property.

First, check if you need approval for your development

The Planning and Design Code has replaced three country development plans as the single set of planning rules for outback areas.

The new planning rules have been prepared to better meet the needs of rural South Australians, such as the mapping of buffers around vital outback infrastructure and new safety measures to mitigate the risk of bushfire.

Access the Planning and Design Code

Zones and overlays of the Planning and Design Code are published as spatial layers in the South Australian Property and Planning Atlas (SAPPA). Applicants in the outback can search for their property in the SAPPA and see what zones and overlays apply.

View locations of zones and overlays in the SAPPA

Residents in outback communities will be the first to lodge development applications under the new planning and development system.

All applications under the PDI Act must be lodged with the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP). You can either lodge digitally through the SA Planning Portal, by mail or in person. Land division applications may still be lodged through the online EDALA system.

Learn more about how to lodge an application

All lodged applications are published in the Public Register on the SA Planning Portal once the relevant fees have been paid and the application has formally entered the assessment process.

New statutory forms must be used when lodging an application under the PDI Act:

Applications that were lodged prior to 1 July 2019 and are yet to reach a decision will continue to be assessed against the Development Act 1993 and relevant Development Plan.

Operational tools and documents

Assessment Pathwaysoperational

The Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017 have replaced the Development Regulations 2008 to guide the assessment of all development applications lodged under the PDI Act.

Important: Once consolidated, the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) (Development Assessment) Variation Regulations 2019 become the PDI (General) Regulations 2017.

All statutory forms have been replaced and five new Practice Directions further guide the new assessment process.

Guides

Forms

Determinations

Community Engagement Charteroperational

The Community Engagement Charter is used when a designated entity initates an amendment to a statutory instrument such as the Planning and Design Code or a Ministerial Building Standard.

The Charter ensures that adequate engagement occurs with South Australians who are affected by the statutory instrument.

Practitioners can also use the online Community Engagement Charter Toolkit

Documents

ePlanningoperational

ePlanning solutions available in Phase One include the SA Planning Portal and the South Australian Property and Planning Atlas (SAPPA).

The SAPPA replaces the former Property Location Browser and features additional layers as part of implementing the new planning system:

Planning and Design Codeoperational

The Planning and Design Code is the single rule book of planning policy for outback areas. Three Land Not Within a Council Area (LNWCA) Development Plans have been revoked and converted to the Code:

Read the Community Guide to the Planning and Design Code in the Outback (PDF, 1397 KB)

Documents

Maps

It is recommended that you use the South Australian Property and Planning Atlas (SAPPA) to view the spatial information represented in the PDF maps below. The SAPPA is an online mapping tool that allows users to more accurately identify Zones and Overlays of the Planning and Design Code that apply to their location.

State Planning Policiesoperational

Stat Planning Policies first became operational for the entire state in January 2019, and took effect in outback areas on 1 July 2019.

Documents

Page last modified Monday, 10 February 2020