Planning and Building

If you are considering doing any building or major renovation work, changing how your property is used, or installing advertising signage, you will most likely require development approval.

Development approval is required for the construction of new buildings, renovations, advertising, and changes in use.

There are some exemptions where approval is not required. You can find out here if your development requires approval.

On 19 March 2021, the Planning and Design Code replaced all council development plans and provided a single source of planning policy across South Australia. You can browse the Planning and Design Code to see what policies apply to a particular address or what policies apply to develop at an address.

The Planning and Design Code can also be accessed by a GIS program. You can also access the SA Property and Planning Atlas to view an aerial view of your property and development overlays.

All development applications are now lodged electronically on the PlanSA Portal (see below for the link). Once you lodge your application, it will be sent to the council for assessment.

You can lodge an application yourself on the PlanSA Portal. Alternatively, you can request that council administration lodge the application on the PlanSA portal on your behalf by visiting the Brighton Civic Centre, posting, or emailing us.

Please note requesting the council to lodge a hard copy application on your behalf will incur a lodgement fee of $87.

You can track the status of a development application via a development register.