town planning

What can I build here?

Free site intelligence on an address in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS or the ACT, for anyone weighing up a block. See what it is zoned for (the council rule that sets how land can be used), the overlays worth checking (extra controls like heritage or flood) and the likely approval path.

Most ideas don't fail on the zone. They fail on a setback, minimum garden area, or an overlay nobody mentioned at the open home.

When a block is worth a closer look, start an application in Planning: its lodgement pack lists the documents to attach, shaped by the site's mapped overlays (for NSW, separate lists for a DA and a CDC), names any layer we could not check, and shows each document as attached, not started or could not check. This free check doesn't produce that list.

Free to look up an address in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS or the ACT. No sign-up to see a first read.

Free site check

Type an Australian address and pick its state. We check the public planning data for that site and show you the result.

Or try an example:

what you get

Size up a site before you commit

Check an address against the public planning data and rule the block in or out before you spend money on it. If it's worth more, Planning adds the envelope.

Read the zoning

Zoning is the council rule that sets what a site can be used for. See what this address is zoned for and what your council allows on it.

Spot the overlays

An overlay is an extra council control, like heritage or flood. See which ones apply before settlement.

Get the likely pathway

An early view of the approval path, before you pay for drawings or reports.

Grounded in real data

The result comes from the public planning data for that address, not a rule of thumb.

An address we can't match to a property returns nothing at all. No zone, and no default standing in for one. If it matches but your council's controls aren't fully mapped yet, the read tells you so. Any overlay layer we didn't read shows as Not checked, which is a gap to close, not a clearance.

In Planning, on Planning Pro or Urban Pulse Pro, the same read goes further. Where the controls are mapped, Planning gives you the building envelope: maximum height, maximum storeys, front, side and rear setbacks, maximum site coverage, minimum garden area and car parking. Its Path Advisor names the likely route and what would push the proposal to a full DA. Knowing the zone tells you what's allowed. Planning's envelope tells you what fits.

Ask it in seven states and territories: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. New South Wales goes deepest, because it's the only state where we pull the mapped overlays for you. In Queensland the read comes from the council's own planning scheme, and today that covers five councils: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Logan, Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast.

before you commit

Share the read before the money goes in

Reading the screen is one thing. Putting a deposit behind the idea is another. Every address you check gets its own page, so send it to your planner, your builder or your broker, and everyone starts from the same read of the block. It's site information from published planning data, not planning advice.

read the FAQ

how it works

From address to answer

today

Search an address

Type an address in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS or the ACT and pick the state. No sign-up to see a first read.

today

Read the result

See the zoning, the overlays to check and the likely approval path, explained.

then

Go deeper in Planning

On Planning Pro or Urban Pulse Pro, Planning adds the building envelope and what would push the idea to a full DA.

then

Lodge it

Once you've started an application, Planning's lodgement pack shows what's attached and what's still missing, so nothing goes in short. The list appears there, not on this free check.

Planning is the part you pay for. When your application is complete, you lodge it. If you'd like help, you can bring in a town planner through Marketplace.

the questions we get

Questions about the site check

Who lodges the planning application, and what does Planning prepare?

You lodge it, and you stay the applicant. On Planning Pro, Planning builds your planning pack for you to review and lodge, and includes a list of the documents to attach, shaped by the mapped overlays on the site (for NSW, separate lists for a development application and a complying development certificate), naming any layer we could not check and marking each document attached or not started. You lodge it yourself, or bring in a town planner through Marketplace to help. The decision on approval sits with the council or the relevant authority. When you're ready to price the work, post the scope on Marketplace on any paid plan.

When the free read isn't enough

The free check is often enough to rule a block out. For the ones worth keeping, Planning adds the envelope and starts your application's lodgement pack, which lists the documents to attach. If you'd like help, you can bring in a town planner through Marketplace.

Urban Pulse is an Australian construction platform: check what a site allows, build the planning pack, get quotes from trades, send contracts and reports for signing, and run the build. Payments & Finance is coming soon.

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