DAISY - Residential Development Made Easier

We’re introducing a new digital planning assistant to help Newcastle residents plan and prepare residential development applications.

Meet DAISY (Development Application Information SYstem), City of Newcastle’s (CN) AI-powered chatbot. DAISY appears on our Development webpages and is designed to guide you through the early stages of preparing a development application (DA) for residential development.

What is DAISY?

DAISY is a generative AI assistant. It responds to your questions by creating helpful, easy-to-understand answers based on planning rules and requirements.

As a new technology, DAISY is continually learning. While it aims to provide accurate and helpful guidance, it may not always have perfect answers. Over time, it will improve as more people in our community use it.

DAISY is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help you:

• Understanding planning requirements
• Prepare for your application
• Feel more confident before lodging your DA
  
  

What DAISY can help with

DAISY can support you by:

• Explaining residential planning rules relevant to Newcastle
• Identifying which documents are required for your application
• Checking and validating uploaded documents
• Creating a submission-ready document pack for the NSW Planning Portal
• Helping you understand what type of approval your project may need
• Answering general questions about:
  • Local Environmental Plans (LEPs)
  • Development Control Plans (DCPs)
  • Other planning controls and policies

What DAISY cannot do

DAISY is designed to assist, not replace Council processes. It cannot:

• Make decisions on development applications. All decisions are made by CN planning staff
• Submit applications on your behalf. All DAs must be lodged through the NSW Planning Portal
• Track the progress of your application. Use the NSW Planning Portal or CN's Application Tracker
• Provide detailed advice for complex or non-residential developments
  
  

Logging in to DAISY

By logging in, you can:

• Save your progress and return later
• Receive more personalised guidance
• Access a tailored checklist of required documents
• Upload and validate your documents
  
  

Tips for using DAISY

To get the most out of DAISY:

• Start by entering your Newcastle property address
• Be clear about the type of residential development you are planning
• Prepare your documents in advance where possible
• Keep your NSW Planning Portal login details handy
• Check important details with Council before submitting your application
  
  

Getting started with DAISY

Look for the DAISY pop-up on the right-hand side of our Development pages.

Enter your address and begin your planning journey with City of Newcastle.

Feedback and Support

We are continuously improving DAISY based on community feedback, and you can provide feedback directly through the DAISY interface.

If you experience technical issues accessing the tool, contact:

Email: [email protected]

Need more information?

View our Frequently Asked Questions for answers to common questions about using DAISY, preparing your application, uploading documents, and accessing support.

Funded by the Australian Government Housing Support Program and the NSW Government in association with City of Newcastle