Do I need Development Approval?

Provided the business activity can be conducted at all times strictly within the criteria above, then no formal approval from council is required, as a home activity does not constitute development within the meaning of the Act.

As no approval is needed, you do not need to lodge an application with us for assessment. Therefore, within the constraints imposed by the criteria listed above, you are entitled to carry on that business enterprise without further reference to us unless other issues are involved with that business, such as health and hygiene matters which may require special attention.

Your attention is drawn to the requirement that any such activity is to be conducted so that it does not detrimentally affect the amenity of the locality. As can be appreciated, this can be a rather subjective test and one that has the potential to create friction if the impact of the activity is at all felt beyond the boundaries of the site.

Any sort of business which involves manufacturing, or the production of something has the potential to cause problems because of the very nature of any operations, processes and tools used. Because of that subjective test that the amenity must not be affected (as mentioned above), council has the power to intervene to check the situation and see if you are operating within the home activity criteria. If the “nuisance” factor is apparent, then you will have a problem continuing that business.

We often receive complaints from neighbours and others about business activities which:

• create repeated, prolonged or loud noise
• interfere with TV or radio reception
• produce smoke, smells, fumes, dust and the like
• increase traffic in the street or lead to congestion brought about by visitor parking
• and general movement
• are carried on at times outside of normal working hours.

Ordinarily, mechanical repairs, panel beating, spray painting and activities, which use noisy machinery or require regular delivery of materials or constant turnover of customers do not fit into the definition of home activity.

Conversely, examples of those types of business activities that could be suitable include a professional office that is set up in a room of the house, a one person consultancy or a drafting office, a journalist or writer working from home, light handicrafts being fashioned, or an agency which does not rely on constant public access nor the movement/storage of goods and products. Please note that these are possibilities only and are provided merely be way of example, not to indicate that they would be automatically acceptable.

Irrespective, you need to be mindful at all times to operate within the limits imposed by the home activity criteria and, of course, not to cause any nuisance to neighbours nor create conditions which may give rise to complaint.

If you cannot meet at the outset any of the criteria, or subsequently breach any of the criteria (eg. the level of impact is such that it is clearly affecting amenity) then you are operating outside of the definition of home activity and the business becomes a land use or a development in its own right, and is most likely something that is not appropriate within a residential area.

In this event you should not commence, or cease undertaking the activity. If you still wish to undertake the activity you must first lodge a development application with us for assessment under the provisions of the PDI Regulations. Processing such an application may involve giving public notice to neighbours and consultation with other government agencies.

If your activity is one that is classed as being a non-complying form of development in the area, special provisions apply to seeking planning consent – see separate Information Guide. Approval from council to “authenticate” your home activity should not be taken for granted. It may well be that you will need to look at industrial or commercial premises in an appropriate location to set up your business.