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Upper Hunter Shire Council — Development Application Data

A live snapshot of development activity in Upper Hunter 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
1,292
Since 2021
Lodged last 12m
169
Median assessment
29 days
Clause 4.6 rate
4.1%
Development standard variations

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

Counted from every application Upper Hunter 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
29 days
across 934 determinations
Slowest 20% take
81+ days
the figure worth planning around
Against NSW
-31 days
the NSW median is 60 days
Approved as CDC
17.4%
200 complying development certificates
Who determines applications here
Council (delegation not specified)54.1% · 511
Council staff under delegation44.6% · 421

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.

5% of applications in Upper Hunter Shire Council sought a clause 4.6 variation to a development standard, and 6.2% of those variations were granted (3 of 48). 3.8% of DAs lodged were withdrawn before a determination was made. On the CDC side, 27.5% of certificates lodged were rejected rather than accepted, at an average declared cost of $275,328.

Development type mix

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

Erection of a new structure373
Shed195
Dwelling house163
Garages, carports and car parking spaces134
Dwelling129
Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure112
Other88
Demolition79

Development cost distribution

Estimated development cost ranges reported on Upper Hunter Shire Council DAs.

Under $100k699
$100k – $500k339
$500k – $1M138
$1M – $5M76
$5M+26

Upper Hunter 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 Upper Hunter Shire Council handle?

Plan Advice holds 1,292 development applications for Upper Hunter Shire Council, 169 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 Upper Hunter Shire Council?

The median assessment time is 29 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 Upper Hunter Shire Council?

The median is 29 days from lodgement to determination across 934 applications determined in the last 5 years, and the slowest fifth take 81 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 Upper Hunter Shire Council?

44.6% of determinations were made by council staff under delegated authority. council (delegation not specified) determined 54.1%. Anything referred to a panel or the elected body is decided in a public meeting, which adds a meeting cycle.

Does Upper Hunter Shire Council approve clause 4.6 variations?

5% of applications sought a variation to a development standard, and 6.2% of those were granted (3 of 48 in the last 5 years).

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

17.4% of approvals in this LGA went through as complying development (200 certificates in the last 5 years), and 27.5% 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 Upper Hunter Shire Council?

The most frequent application types are erection of a new structure (373), shed (195), dwelling house (163).

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

53 applications — 4.1% 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.

110/2026
6165 SCONE ROAD MERRIWA 2329
Dwelling house · lodged 2026-09-14
$250,000
10.2026.82.1
1199 CULLINGRAL ROAD MERRIWA 2329
Dwelling house · lodged 2026-07-08
$20,000
112/2026
238 STEWARTS BROOK ROAD STEWARTS BROOK 2337
Demolition · lodged 2026-09-04
$359,964
PAN-660950
13 NEW ENGLAND HIGHWAY SCONE 2337
Erection of a new structure · lodged 2026-09-16
$323,000
94/2026
497 HULKS ROAD MERRIWA 2329
Erection of a new structure · lodged 2026-09-03
$156,483
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Nearby councils: upper lachlan · uralla · wagga wagga · walcha · walgett · warren · warrumbungle · waverley · weddin · wentworth · willoughby · wingecarribee — or see DA statistics for all 129 NSW councils.