Pre-DA BCA report for a DA in The Hills Shire

Why a BCA report goes in with the DA in The Hills Shire

A development application to The Hills Shire Council is assessed under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The council decides the planning questions: the LEP, the DCP, the streetscape and the neighbours. It does not certify NCC compliance, but it asks for evidence that the building can comply, because a design that cannot meet the NCC gets redesigned after consent and comes back as a section 4.55 modification.

Most NSW councils list a BCA compliance assessment among the DA lodgement documents for commercial, industrial, community, change-of-use and multi-dwelling proposals. Designers lodge one on houses too when the site is tight. The report identifies every non-compliance and a practical way to fix it, so the DA drawings already show the fire separation, the exits, the stairs and the accessible path the construction certificate will need.

What the report covers

• Building classification and type of construction for the design
• Fire separation to the boundaries and between parts, and fire resistance of the elements
• Exits, travel distances, stairs, barriers and handrails
• Access for people with a disability under Part D4 and AS 1428.1, where the class requires it
• Health and amenity: wet areas, light and ventilation, room heights, sanitary facilities
• Energy: BASIX commitments for housing, NCC Section J for commercial buildings
• A schedule of every non-compliance with the drawing reference and the fix

From Pre-DA to construction certificate in The Hills Shire

DAs in New South Wales are lodged through the NSW Planning Portal, and The Hills Shire Council assesses them against its LEP and DCP. Once consent issues, a registered certifier assesses the construction certificate against the NCC in full. A report written at Pre-DA stage is re-issued at CC stage as the included revision when the design has moved only in response to council or assessor comments; a redesigned building is a new report.

Complying development in the Sydney metropolitan region bypasses the DA and goes straight to a complying development certificate. The same report supports the CDC, because the certifier's questions are the NCC questions.

Planning controls and the NCC in The Hills Shire

The Hills Shire Council assesses the DA against The Hills Local Environmental Plan 2019 and its development control plan: zoning, height, floor space ratio, setbacks and character. None of those is an NCC question. The NCC questions (classification, fire separation, exits, access, health and amenity, energy) are decided later by the certifier, which is why a BCA report lodged with the DA is the cheapest way to stop a redesign between consent and the construction certificate.

Fees

• BCA report, Class 1a house, dual occupancy or up to three townhouses: $3,300 inc GST ($3,000 + GST)
• BCA report, Class 10a shed, garage or carport: $3,300 inc GST ($3,000 + GST)
• BCA report, Class 5 to 9b under 300 m²: $3,300 inc GST ($3,000 + GST); 300 to 2,000 m²: $5,500 inc GST ($5,000 + GST)
• Access report with the BCA report: $1,650 inc GST ($1,500 + GST); on its own $3,300 inc GST ($3,000 + GST)
• 72-hour delivery from a complete drawing set; 24 hours at +50%