Planning consent (SA)

Planning consent is the first stage of a South Australian development approval. It assesses the proposal against the Planning and Design Code, and it must be granted before building rules consent can issue. It reflects the SA structure that splits the approval into a planning part and a building part.

In South Australia a “development approval” is actually a package of consents, and the two main ones are sequential:

• Planning consent: does the proposal stack up against the Planning and Design Code, the zone, overlays, and design policies (use, siting, built form, amenity)? This is the planning judgement.
• Building rules consent: does it comply with the NCC and building rules? This comes after planning consent.

Only when all required consents are granted does the development approval issue, and work can start. The process runs through the PlanSA portal, and the relevant authority (council assessment panel, a council assessment manager, an accredited professional, or the State Commission Assessment Panel, depending on the pathway) decides each part.

For a builder the practical points are to treat planning consent as the gate before building consent: there is no point lodging or chasing building rules consent until the planning side is sorted, because building consent cannot issue first. Confirm which consents your job needs (some minor work is deemed-to-satisfy or accepted and skips the planning merit assessment), lodge through PlanSA, and do not commence until the full development approval (not just one consent) is in hand. Starting on planning consent alone, without building rules consent, is unlawful.

Also known as: SA planning consent.

Category: Approvals / South Australia.

Related

• SA DA process
• Relevant authority

See also

• Consent authority

References

• SA DA process (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-04)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-04. Verified: 2026-06-04. Quarterly review for currency.