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Kempsey Shire Council — Development Application Data

A live snapshot of development activity in Kempsey Shire Council — sourced from NSW Government open data and the 413,770-DA Plan Advice corpus. Refreshed automatically. Data reflects the most recent NSW Planning Portal open-data feeds, counted application by application.

DAs on file
2,289
Since 2021
Lodged last 12m
297
Median assessment
65 days
Clause 4.6 rate
0.7%
Development standard variations

How long a DA takes in Kempsey Shire Council, and who decides it

Counted from every application Kempsey Shire Council determined in the last 5 years, as published in the NSW Planning Portal open data. Timelines are lodgement to determination, so they include the time spent waiting on the applicant.

Median determination
65 days
across 1,585 determinations
Slowest 20% take
141+ days
the figure worth planning around
Against NSW
+5 days
the NSW median is 60 days
Approved as CDC
28.8%
688 complying development certificates
Who determines applications here
Council (delegation not specified)97.7% · 1,579

An application determined under delegation is decided by the assessing officer. Anything referred to a panel or the elected body is decided in a public meeting and adds a meeting cycle to the timeline. Where the council recorded only “Council” it did not say which, so that row is left as published.

0.8% of applications in Kempsey Shire Council sought a clause 4.6 variation to a development standard, and 14.3% of those variations were granted (2 of 14). 5.9% of DAs lodged were withdrawn before a determination was made. On the CDC side, 24.9% of certificates lodged were rejected rather than accepted, at an average declared cost of $206,378.

Development type mix

What people are building in Kempsey Shire Council. Ranked by DA volume.

Erection of a new structure772
Dwelling house439
Shed308
Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure299
Dwelling254
Subdivision171
Residential Accommodation135
Alterations and additions to residential development127

Development cost distribution

Estimated development cost ranges reported on Kempsey Shire Council DAs.

Under $100k1,174
$100k – $500k608
$500k – $1M352
$1M – $5M94
$5M+47

Kempsey Shire Council DAs — common questions

Answered from this council's own determinations. Where a council has not published a figure, the question is left out rather than guessed.

How many development applications does Kempsey Shire Council handle?

Plan Advice holds 2,289 development applications for Kempsey Shire Council, 297 of them lodged in the last 12 months. The figures on this page are counted from that register, not estimated.

How long does a DA take in Kempsey Shire Council?

The median assessment time is 65 days. That is the council's own reported figure from the NSW Planning Portal league tables, so it covers every DA they determined — not a sample.

How long does the council take to determine a DA in Kempsey Shire Council?

The median is 65 days from lodgement to determination across 1,585 applications determined in the last 5 years, and the slowest fifth take 141 days or more. The NSW median is 60 days. Counted from the NSW Planning Portal open data, so it covers every application — not a sample.

Who decides development applications in Kempsey Shire Council?

0.1% of determinations were made by council staff under delegated authority. council (delegation not specified) determined 97.7%. Anything referred to a panel or the elected body is decided in a public meeting, which adds a meeting cycle.

Does Kempsey Shire Council approve clause 4.6 variations?

0.8% of applications sought a variation to a development standard, and 14.3% of those were granted (2 of 14 in the last 5 years).

Can I use a CDC instead of a DA in Kempsey Shire Council?

28.8% of approvals in this LGA went through as complying development (688 certificates in the last 5 years), and 24.9% of CDC applications lodged were rejected rather than accepted. A CDC only applies if the proposal meets every development standard in the Codes SEPP.

What kinds of development are most common in Kempsey Shire Council?

The most frequent application types are erection of a new structure (772), dwelling house (439), shed (308).

How often is a clause 4.6 variation used in Kempsey Shire Council?

17 applications — 0.74% of the register — sought a clause 4.6 variation to a development standard.

Most recent development applications

Sampled from the NSW Planning Portal open-data feed.

PAN-676498
39 KINCHELA STREET GLADSTONE 2440
Demolition · lodged 2026-09-17
$1,728,780
PAN-676342
23 STRAIGHT STREET HAT HEAD 2440
Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure · lodged 2026-09-17
$132,330
PAN-676293
2786 SOUTH WEST ROCKS ROAD JERSEYVILLE 2431
Dwelling house · lodged 2026-09-17
$225,000
PAN-676258
55 Athena Parade South West Rocks
Seniors housing · lodged 2026-09-17
$20,000
N/A
23 JAMES GRIMWADE PLACE EAST KEMPSEY 2440
Shed · lodged 2026-09-17
$75,000
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Nearby councils: ku ring gai · kyogle · lord howe island unincorporat · lachlan · lake macquarie · lane cove · leeton · lismore · lithgow · liverpool · liverpool plains · lockhart — or see DA statistics for all 129 NSW councils.