Outline consent: a new flexible assessment approach

Applicants can now gain an early decision on specific aspects of a development proposal, providing greater certainty at an early stage before substantial resources are committed to a project.

The new flexible assessment approach enables outline consent to be given for aspects such as building height or density, ahead of submitting a full planning consent application.

Outline consent can be sought for a Performance Assessed Development that is assessed by the State Planning Commission as the relevant authority.

While outline consent provides certainty of approval of a particular aspect of the development, a full planning assessment is required for the remaining planning matters.

An outline consent can be sought for any of the following aspects of a proposed development:

• building height, bulk and scale
• building envelope
• access
• land use
• density
• open space.

Practice Direction 18 outlines the requirements and processes for applying for and assessing outline consents, as well as associated regulation changes.

The practice direction was shaped by industry and community feedback received during consultation.

A fee structure for outline consent has also been introduced, and is set out by a Ministerial fee notice (PDF, 208 KB).

Applications for outline consent will be processed outside of the Development Application Processing (DAP) system until the necessary enhancements can be made later this year.

For further information about outline consents, read our Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 227 KB) and Practice Direction 18 Guide (PDF, 628 KB), or contact the Commission Assessment Team on 1800 752 664 or email PlanSA@sa.gov.au.