Development assessment and approvals

Changed process to development applications

Development applications lodged on or after 18 December 2009 must use the approved forms under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009. Development applications lodged prior to 18 December 2009 will continue to be assessed under the Integrated Planning Act 1997.

Water-related development includes works that take or interfere with water in a watercourse, lake, spring, aquifer or from overland flow. Such works may include but are not limited to pumps, diversion channels, weirs, dams, or bores.

Approvals for water-related development are dealt with under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (PDF)*.

The Integrated Development Assessment System (IDAS) is the process under the Sustainable Planning Act used for assessing and approving development applications for water-related development.

Types of development

Under the Sustainable Planning Act, development may be:

assessable
compliance assessed
exempt¹
prohibited
self-assessable.

¹All development is considered exempt unless it is assessable, compliance assessed, prohibited or self-assessable.

Under the Sustainable Planning Act, assessable development includes:

works that take or interfere with water in a watercourse, lake or spring (e.g. pump, gravity diversion, stream redirection, weir or dam)
artesian bores anywhere in the state
subartesian water bores used for stock or domestic purposes in certain declared subartesian areas
subartesian bores used for purposes other than stock or domestic use in declared subartesian areas.

Types of assessment

There are three levels of assessment under the Sustainable Planning Act:

impact assessment (not relevant to water-related development)
code assessment
self assessment.

Assessment codes

Codes for assessable and self-assessable development

Types of approval

You will require a development permit before you can begin work on assessable development.
You will not require a development permit before undertaking any self-assessable development, but the work must comply with applicable self-assessment codes.

Applying for a development permit

To apply for a development permit, see information on IDAS on the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning website.

IDAS forms and checklists

* Requires Adobe Reader

Last updated 7 December 2012