New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

STATE ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING POLICY (EXEMPT AND COMPLYING DEVELOPMENT CODES) 2008 - REG 1.16

1.16 General requirements for exempt development

(1) To be exempt development for the purposes of this Policy, the development--

(a) must meet the relevant deemed-to-satisfy provisions of the Building Code of Australia , or if there are no such relevant provisions, must be structurally adequate, and

(b) must not, if it relates to an existing building, cause the building to contravene the Building Code of Australia , and

(b1) must not be carried out on land that is a declared area of outstanding biodiversity value under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 or declared critical habitat under Part 7A of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 , and

(b2) must not be carried out on land that is, or is part of, a wilderness area (within the meaning of Wilderness Act 1987 ), and

(c) must not be carried out on land that is, or on which there is, an item that is listed on the State Heritage Register under the Heritage Act 1977 , or that is subject to an interim heritage order under that Act, and

(d) must not be carried out on land that is described or otherwise identified on a map specified in Schedule 4.

(1A) Despite subclause (1)(c), if development meets the requirements and standards specified by this Policy and that development--

(a) has been granted an exemption under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977 , or

(b) is subject to an exemption under section 57(1A) or (3) of that Act,

the development is exempt development under this Policy.

(1B) If an item listed on the State Heritage Register is not located on, or does not comprise, the whole of the relevant land, subclause (1)(c) applies only to the part of the land that is described and mapped on that register.

(1C) If an item not listed on the State Heritage Register but identified as an item of environmental heritage in an environmental planning instrument does not comprise, or is not located on, the whole of the relevant land, any restriction on carrying out development on the relevant land on which the item is located applies only to the part of the land that is described and mapped on that instrument.

(2) Development that relates to an existing building that is classified under the Building Code of Australia as class 1b or class 2-9 is exempt development for the purposes of this Policy only if--

(a) the building has a current fire safety certificate or fire safety statement, or

(b) no fire safety measures are currently implemented, required or proposed for the building.

(3) To be exempt development for the purposes of this Policy, the development must--

(a) be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications, if applicable, and

(b) not involve the removal or pruning of a tree or other vegetation that requires a permit, approval or development consent, unless the removal or pruning is carried out in accordance with the permit, approval or development consent,

Example--: A permit or approval may be required under State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021 , Chapter 2 or other legislation.

(c) not involve the removal of--

(i) non-friable asbestos from an area of more than 10m 2, or

(ii) friable asbestos.

Note--: Residential buildings constructed before 1990 may contain asbestos. See Code of practice: How to safely remove asbestos published by SafeWork NSW in December 2022 and www.asbestos.nsw.gov.au for further information.

(4) Subclause (3)(c) does not apply if the removal is carried out by a licensed asbestos removalist.

(5) In this clause--

"friable asbestos" ,
"licensed asbestos removalist" and
"non-friable asbestos" have the same meaning as in the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 .