Neighbours will no longer find out about a development application (DA) next door or be given the chance to object under statewide changes to how residents find out about developments in their area.
With some exceptions.
The change comes from NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI), and councils have little say on the change, however, Northern Beaches Council confirmed to Manly Observer they will continue to list DA’s on their online DA tracker at the time of lodgement. Applicants just won’t be required to notify neighbours or exhibit 32 specified types of development.
The NSW Government’s new statewide Community Participation Plan (CPP) commenced on 1 September 2026, replacing more than 100 separate council-by-council participation plans with a single set of rules for NSW.
Manly Observer first reported on the proposal in June 2026, when DPHI put it out for public feedback, arguing it would make consultation requirements “clear and consistent” across NSW.
The final version was shaped by more than 1,000 submissions on the draft, with a few refinements made to what type of developments to exclude from exhibition (in other words, developments that don’t need neighbours to be notified) and tweaks to consultation timeframes for regional plans and Local Strategic Planning Statements.
DPHI said the new rules will give communities a clearer way to have their say on planning decisions by standardising consultation requirements across the state.
“By creating one clear statewide approach we’re giving everyone in NSW a fairer way to have their say, no matter where they live,” Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said.
“We don’t expect people to be experts to make a submission to the planning process, but we want to make sure that people can have their say in a clear, simple and easily understood way.”
What’s changing
The CPP standardises minimum public exhibition periods for planning documents and development applications across every council in the state, from 14 days for most local DAs, up to 60 days for major strategic plans like Local Strategic Planning Statements.
More importantly, the biggest change affecting residents is which developments no longer need to be exhibited (for neighbour notification or for neighbours to be able to have a say on the development).
There are 32 types of developments that will be excluded from exhibition, provided those developments don’t include a variation to height or floor space ratio limits.
Developments councils won’t have to tell neighbours about:
- A house of up to two storeys
- A granny flat or secondary dwelling
- A duplex (two homes on one block) up to two storeys
- Up to five townhouses or attached homes
- Subdivision of one block into up to five new lots
- Multi-dwelling housing up to five homes
- A pool, shed, pergola or carport
- Knocking a building down
- Renovations or extensions to a home that keep it at two storeys or under
- Renovations to a non-residential building (shops, offices, etc.)
- Changing what a building is used for (as long as it’s not becoming a club or pub, and isn’t in a residential area)
- Running a small business from home
- An industrial retail outlet
- Bed and breakfast accommodation
- A kiosk or roadside stall
- Signage (outside residential areas)
- Removing a tree from private land
- A temporary structure (e.g. a marquee for an event)
- Farm buildings and rural workers’ cottages
- Certain minor changes to an already-approved DA
Notification around Exempt Development (very low-impact work) and Complying Development remain as is.
As for apartment buildings and shop-top housing, the draft CPP proposed not notifying neighbours if they met height and setback rules. However, following feedback, residential flat buildings and shop-top housing developments will remain subject to a minimum 14-day exhibition.
Even if a project is on the “no exhibition needed” list above, it will still go on public exhibition if:
- It needs approval to go higher, or bigger, than what the local planning rules normally allow.
- It’s a type of development that is flagged as higher-risk to the environment (“designated development”).
- It needs sign-off from another government agency, like for heritage or waterways (“nominated integrated development”).
- It could affect an endangered plant or animal (“threatened species development”).
- It’s been declared a State Significant Development.
While these development will still be assessed on their merits like privacy, overshadowing and heritage impacts, if a resident were to make a submission on an exhibition-exempt development (like those above), the consent authority (like Council) is not required to take that submission into consideration.
How do I find out if a development is planned for my area?
Councils can still decide how they will engage with their own communities on developments, and DPHI will release guidance to help Council’s update those engagement processes.
However, Councils will not be able to change the minimum exhibition timeframes set out in the CPP.
Northern Beaches Council has confirmed that it will continue to display DAs lodged through its online DA tracker portal (which you can find here).
Instead of residents being notified about a development, they will now need to regularly check the DA tracker portal for DAs lodged in their suburb.
Manly Observer publishes a weekly list, in suburb alphabetical order, of DAs lodged through Council’s portal. This will be another way for residents to keep track of what’s happening in their suburb.
Catch up on the latest DA Round Ups:
