CDC stands for complying development checklist. It is a combination of planning and construction approval processes. It has been designed to enable development applications to be fast tracked. Your local Council or private certifier can conduct it. It is a process which is faster then a development application which is normally carried out through the local Council.
If you are about to carry out construction on a site you might require a CDC approval. It can be granted for commercial buildings as well as residential buildings. This approval is applicable for industrial projects as well. The CDC is awarded when the development on the site complies with all the predetermined development standards. Read below to know what is CDC approval.
CDC approval steps
Obtaining CDC approval has about two steps:
- Compliance is required according to a strictly defined checklist. Every element is observed closely and if there is a failure to meet any regulation the CDC would become noncompliant.
- The second step is inclusion of the construction certificate.
It should be kept in mind that if you are thinking about including a balcony in your renovation project and it doesn’t fit in the guidelines the application can be rejected. It is important to find out whether a CDC is permissible or whether the site has certain restrictions which only allows for a DA obtained from the Council.
In order to obtain a CDC approval you can get guidance from your local home Builders. They would help review the CDC documents and check whether these are applicable with the local Council regulations. They would also carry out the review of the design and the kind of building according to your requirements. The size of your home compared to the size of the site would also have an impact on obtaining the CDC approval. Certain things like the floor space ratio and how big the building should be taken into consideration. Finally they would analyze whether the design is meeting all the criteria required for the CDC approval. The process can usually take up around 3 to 4 months.
Advantages of obtaining a CDC approval
There are certain advantages in obtaining the CDC approval. These include the following:
- The approval is a FastTrack process which is usually obtained within 20 days of submitting the paperwork. This can help you save a considerable amount of time because on average a DA would take anywhere from 70 days or more to get an approval.
- The requirements for a CDC are less strenuous than a DA process
- Despite the fact that the certified Council must be informed that you have applied for a CDC before it is approved you can still have ample time to carry out the development process and have it completed within time.
It is important that the complying development certificate is issued by the authority prior to the work commencing. Once the work has been completed the Council or the certifier would check out whether the work has been carried out according to the plan. It is important that the work is structurally adequate and in compliance with Building Code of Australia.
