Doing your DA yourself?
Start here.
Step-by-step checklists for every stage of an Australian DA — pre-application, consultant engagement, documentation, lodgement, RFI responses, post-consent. Read access is free. Members save progress + get reminders + auto-populate from uploaded documents.
Pre-application
Before you commit — site analysis, eligibility, neighbour consultation, owner-builder licensing.
Site Assessment
Zoning, overlays, constraints — know your site before you commit to anything.
Project Eligibility
CDC vs DA vs SSD — which pathway is right for your project.
Owner-Builder Licence
NSW: required for work over A$10k. State-by-state variants.
Pre-DA Consultation
Council pre-lodgement meeting + neighbour consultation prep.
Consultant engagement
Which consultants you need, in what order, and what to expect from each.
Which Consultants Do You Need
Decision tree — input your site + project type, get an ordered list.
Survey Commissioned
What to ask a surveyor for: RL/AHD, boundaries, services, trees, levels.
Architectural Set
Site/floor/elevation/section/shadow/streetscape — what you need.
BASIX + NatHERS
When required, who produces, cost benchmark, certificate fields.
Geotech + Structural
AS 2870 site class, footing recommendations, structural sign-off.
Hazard Reports
BAL / flood / contamination — when each is triggered + who produces.
Specialist Reports
Traffic / acoustic / fire / accessibility / heritage / arborist triggers.
Documentation
SEE assembly, NCC compliance, full lodgement bundle.
Statement of Environmental Effects
Section-by-section drafting walkthrough.
NCC Compliance Check
Building class + clause-by-clause National Construction Code walkthrough.
Lodgement Document Checklist
Everything that goes in the bundle — by state.
Lodgement
Portal walkthroughs, fees, state-specific variants.
NSW Planning Portal Walkthrough
Step-by-step lodgement on Service NSW Planning Portal.
State Lodgement Variants
VIC / QLD / WA / SA / TAS / ACT / NT lodgement specifics.
Fee Calculator
Clause 263B + DA fees + bond + Long-Service Levy.
Post-lodgement
RFI responses, conditions of consent, CC and OC stages.
RFI Response Playbook
Common council requests + draft response patterns.
Conditions of Consent Interpretation
Typical conditions decoded + compliance actions.
Construction Certificate (CC) Stage
What changes from DA → CC.
Occupation Certificate Handover
OC checklist + final inspections + insurance handover.
Ongoing home compliance
Stay on top after the project is done — safety renewals, trade vetting, insurance.
Property Compliance
Pool fence / smoke alarm / gas / electrical safety renewals.
Trade Vetting
Licence check (NSW Fair Trading + state equivs), insurance, contract red flags.
Insurance Review
Building / contents / home-warranty / owner-builder insurance.
A Membership turns checklists from passive reading into your project's command centre.
Save your progress across every checklist. Auto-populate tasks when you upload a related document (e.g. survey uploaded → "boundary survey received" gets ticked). Get reminders when something's due. Change-watch flags regulatory updates that affect your saved checklists.