Update: New ‘scaled’ lodgement fees under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016

The recently gazetted Planning, Development and Infrastructure (Fees) Notice (No 2) 2024 (Fee Notice) has significantly altered the lodgement fees payable with respect to any particular development application by introducing a system of scaled lodgement fees.

The Fee Notice, as gazetted on 28 March 2024, is available to read here (at page 546).

While other fees are also adjusted under the Fee Notice, the focus of this article is on the new model for lodgement fees.

Lodgement Fees

The lodgement fee prescribed under Schedule 1 Part 2 of the previous Planning, Development and Infrastructure (Fees) Notice 2024 (22 February 2024) was a fixed amount that applied to all applications for planning consent, building consent, and (most recently) outline consent, irrespective of the likely costs of the development itself.

That prescribed fee was fixed at $193.00 between 22 February and 27 March 2024.

As of 28 March 2024, the lodgement fees payable with respect to planning, building and outline consents (termed, the ‘base amount’) has shifted to a scaled model tied to the costs of the development itself.

In accordance with Schedule 1, Part 2, clause 5(a) of the Fee Notice, the applicable lodgement fees commence at $90.00 for development valued at $10,000 or less, and progressively increase to $2,970.00 for development having a total cost exceeding $10 million.

A summary of the scaled lodgement fees appears on the PlanSA portal (extract below):

Implications for relevant authorities

There may well be additional administrative steps required of relevant authorities resulting from the move away from the fixed fee model. In particular, the verification of a development application pursuant to regulation 31 of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017 requires the relevant authority to confirm the prescribed fees payable by the applicant (see r 31(1)(d)(ii)).

In moving to a scaled lodgement fee model, the total cost of the proposed development must now also be kept in mind when confirming the applicable ‘base amount’ fees, in addition to the calculation of fees relating to the assessment pathway (see Schedule 1 Part 2 clause 6 of the Fee Notice).

We encourage councils and relevant authorities to review their existing verification systems to ensure that they can accommodate the additional administrative considerations introduced by the new Fee Notice.

For more specific information on any of the material contained in this article please contact Nicholas Munday on +61 8 8217 1381 or nmunday@normans.com.au