Making a Submission

The planning framework provides landowners with certain entitlements, for example the zoning of the land will permit certain land uses or activities to be undertaken on the land. To learn more about which provisions and zoning apply to a property, visit NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer.

Matters raised in submissions should relate to the impact that a development may have on property, street or community, such as bulk, scale, privacy and solar access impacts.

If you choose to make a submission in objection to a development, the reasons for the objection should relate specifically to the current proposal and not to existing or historical concerns. Matters that are not directly relevant will not be taken into consideration in the assessment of the application. Existing issues are generally not matters for consideration.

For more information, view Section 3.0 of the Community Participation Plan (CPP). If you require further advice, please contact our Duty Officer on 4974 2000 to clarify any matters that may not be clear to you. However, you will need to form your own opinion, as to whether to lodge a submission and the reasons for any such submission.

If you are making a submission and have previously made or will be making a political donation or gift, please read the following information carefully.

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act) requires you to disclose any 'reportable political donations' and 'gifts' made by yourself or any 'associate' within the period commencing two years before the submission is made and ending when the application is determined.

Visit the Political Donations and Gifts page to learn more and if required, download a Political Donations and Gifts Disclosure Form to attach with your submission.  

Failure to disclose relevant information or to make a false disclosure statement is an offence that may be punishable by the imposition of a penalty, as per the Act.

Any submission made, may be obtained under The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA) and is considered ‘Open Access Information’.
'Open Access Information' is made available to the public and therefore is NOT confidential, and will be placed with documents relating to the application on City of Newcastle's (CN) Application Tracker.

CN will remove personal information from the submission it provides to the public in accordance with the Information and Privacy Commission’s (IPC) guidelines.

As per CN's Community Participation Plan (CPP), CN will release your name but withhold some other types of personal information.

Where necessary, a copy of your submission may also be reproduced and provided to authorised third parties associated with the development application. This may include referral bodies, Council reports and/or court proceedings.

Any Political Donations and Gifts Disclosure Forms provided are NOT confidential and will also be publicly available for viewing on CN’s website.

You will receive an email acknowledging receipt of your submission, and all valid submissions, including your name, will be placed on CN's Application Tracker.

The assessment officer assigned to the DA will assess the application and consider each submission. If the assessment officer considers it necessary, they may contact you to discuss your concerns (so please always provide your contact details).

Petitions will be considered as a single submission to an application, irrespective of the number of signatories on a petition. Any correspondence will only be provided to the person who submitted the petition.

Only relevant matters, will be considered when assessing the application. Matters that are not directly relevant to the development, will not be taken into consideration in the assessment of the application.

CN does not respond to specific or individual concerns raised in submissions before determination. After the application is determined, you will be notified in writing of the outcome.

Submissions received after the notification closing date may not be considered. If you require an extension to the time period nominated, please contact us in writing prior to the due date, for the assessing officer to determine whether an extension will be granted.

Extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and will be for a maximum of seven calendar days.

When assessing an application, CN will publicly notify applications which require exhibition in accordance with the Community Participation Plan (CPP). If an application is notified, any submission received during the notification period is considered against the statutory requirements and the reasonable development rights of the applicant.

For DAs requiring notification, residents and owners of potentially effected properties will receive written notification. For modified development applications (MAs), anyone who previously lodged a valid submission on the original DA will also receive a written notification.

State legislation has altered the requirements in relation to newspaper advertisements. Due to this change, all applicable advertisements for the below development types are published on our Public Notices webpage:
 

• Designated development;
• Nominated integrated development;
• Threatened species development;
• Class 1 aquaculture development; and
• Demolition in Heritage Conservation Area

Some applications may also require the placement of signs on properties where the development is to occur.

To view all DAs currently on notification, visit the Application Tracker.

Extended exhibition for the holiday period
In accordance with the CPP, notification periods are extended to allow for the holiday period. The period between 20 December and 10 January (inclusive) is excluded from the calculation of a period of public exhibition.

CN will publicly notify applications which require exhibition in accordance with the Community Participation Plan (CPP). The decision to notify an application is considered on a case-by-case basis.

However, with the exclusion of development relating to a heritage item or development within a heritage conservation area, the following types of development are considered by CN as being unlikely to warrant public notification:
 

• Alterations or additions to commercial or industrial buildings within a business or industrial zone (respectively), except if the site is in proximity to a dwelling or other activity likely to be affected by the proposal
• Changes of use within a business or industrial zone, except if the proposed use involves sex industry-related activities or the site is in proximity to a dwelling or other activity likely to be affected by the proposal
• Single storey dwelling-houses where the allotment area is 450m2 or larger
• Ground-floor alterations or additions to an existing dwelling
• Single storey garages, carports or other residential outbuildings that are at least 600mm clear of property boundaries
• Swimming pools and retaining walls associated with a single dwelling house, and that are at least 600mm clear of property boundaries
• Internal alterations or renovations
• Strata subdivision

Applications to carry out complying development will also not be notified.

Planning Alerts
A third party provider, Planning Alerts provides a service that you can subscribe to and be alerted of all DAs that are lodged within your nominated area. Learn more on the Planning Alerts information page.