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Port Stephens Council — Development Application Data

A live snapshot of development activity in Port Stephens 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
6,168
Since 2021
Lodged last 12m
804
Median assessment
28 days
Clause 4.6 rate
0.7%
Development standard variations

How long a DA takes in Port Stephens Council, and who decides it

Counted from every application Port Stephens 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
28 days
across 4,471 determinations
Slowest 20% take
73+ days
the figure worth planning around
Against NSW
-32 days
the NSW median is 60 days
Approved as CDC
21.7%
1,295 complying development certificates
Who determines applications here
Council (delegation not specified)69.5% · 3,143
Council staff under delegation28.9% · 1,306

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.

0.7% of applications in Port Stephens Council sought a clause 4.6 variation to a development standard, and 224.2% of those variations were granted (74 of 33). 3.6% of DAs lodged were withdrawn before a determination was made. On the CDC side, 17.1% of certificates lodged were rejected rather than accepted, at an average declared cost of $381,646.

Development type mix

What people are building in Port Stephens Council. Ranked by DA volume.

Erection of a new structure1,608
Shed864
Dwelling792
Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure788
Dwelling house764
Pools / decks / fencing540
Alterations and additions to residential development503
Garages, carports and car parking spaces394

Development cost distribution

Estimated development cost ranges reported on Port Stephens Council DAs.

Under $100k3,427
$100k – $500k1,496
$500k – $1M718
$1M – $5M336
$5M+120

Port Stephens 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 Port Stephens Council handle?

Plan Advice holds 6,168 development applications for Port Stephens Council, 804 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 Port Stephens Council?

The median assessment time is 28 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 Port Stephens Council?

The median is 28 days from lodgement to determination across 4,471 applications determined in the last 5 years, and the slowest fifth take 73 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 Port Stephens Council?

28.9% of determinations were made by council staff under delegated authority. council (delegation not specified) determined 69.5%. Anything referred to a panel or the elected body is decided in a public meeting, which adds a meeting cycle.

Does Port Stephens Council approve clause 4.6 variations?

0.7% of applications sought a variation to a development standard, and 224.2% of those were granted (74 of 33 in the last 5 years).

Can I use a CDC instead of a DA in Port Stephens Council?

21.7% of approvals in this LGA went through as complying development (1,295 certificates in the last 5 years), and 17.1% 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 Port Stephens Council?

The most frequent application types are erection of a new structure (1,608), shed (864), dwelling (792).

How often is a clause 4.6 variation used in Port Stephens Council?

44 applications — 0.71% 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-676469
519 FULLERTON COVE ROAD FULLERTON COVE 2318
Farm buildings · lodged 2026-09-17
$230,000
PAN-676433
1 KENT STREET RAYMOND TERRACE 2324
Secondary dwelling · lodged 2026-09-17
PAN-674833
52 DANALENE PARADE CORLETTE 2315
Dwelling house · lodged 2026-09-17
$1,621,629
PAN-673717
18 MORNA POINT ROAD ANNA BAY 2316
Dual occupancy · lodged 2026-09-17
$912,158
DA 16-2026-510-1
2100 PACIFIC HIGHWAY TOMAGO 2322
Demolition · lodged 2026-09-04
$60,000
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Nearby councils: queanbeyan palerang · randwick · richmond valley · ryde · shellharbour · shoalhaven · singleton · snowy monaro · snowy valleys · strathfield · sutherland · tamworth — or see DA statistics for all 129 NSW councils.