Changes to Practice Directions 11 and 12
The State Planning Commission (Commission) has recently amended Practice Direction 11 (PD11) and Practice Direction 12 (PD12) pursuant to section 42(1) of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) (PDI Act). The revised Practice Directions came into operation on 12 September 2025. PD11 version 4 is available to read here, and PD12 version 7 is available to read here.
PD11 – Deemed Planning Consent Standard Conditions
PD11 provides standard conditions that apply to a deemed planning consent (granted pursuant to section 125(2) of the PDI Act) where the relevant authority has not imposed their own conditions.
The revised PD11 amends standard conditions relating to noise, transportable buildings, and, as will be discussed at the end of this article, regulated or significant trees.
Noise
The first standard condition under the noise heading is applicable when the General Development Policies - Interface Between Land Uses [Activities Generating Noise or Vibration] PO or DTS/DPF 4.1 of the Planning and Design Code applies to a development application.
The revised standard condition requires that the:
‘Noise that affects sensitive receivers achieves the relevant performance outcome and/or the Environment Protection (Commercial and Industrial Noise) Policy 2023 under the Environment Protection Act 1993’ (the Policy).
Previously the condition only required the noise to achieve the ‘relevant Environment Protection (Noise) Policy criteria’. The amendments could make enforcement of the standard condition more difficult as a development only needs to achieve the relevant performance outcome ‘and/or’ the Policy. Due to the nature of performance outcomes, it will likely be easier for a development to satisfy the performance outcome in comparison to the Policy.
Transportable Buildings
The standard condition for transportable buildings applies to developments:
‘where the application is for or includes a transportable building and General Development Policies – Design [Design of Transportable Dwellings] PO or DTS/DPF 21.1 or Design in Urban Areas [Design of Transportable Dwellings] PO or DTS/DPF 25.1 of the Planning and Design Code apply to the application.’
The standard condition requires that the ‘sub-floor space between the building and ground level is clad in material and finish consistent with the building.’ This is a minor alteration, as previously the area ‘beneath transportable buildings [had to be] enclosed to give the appearance of a permanent structure’.
PD12 – Conditions 2020
PD12 specifies the types of conditions that a relevant authority may impose pursuant to section 127(1)(b) and (2)(a) of the PDI Act. PD12 also prescribes conditions that must be imposed for certain classes of development if development authorisation is granted.
An overall revision to PD12, has seen the removal of the notes column from the table. The previous notes referred to sections of the PDI Act relevant to the specific condition. Further, regarding regulated or significant trees, the notes provided that it was by application from the applicant that the relevant authority may determine if a payment in lieu of replacement trees was to be made. Now it appears that an application is not necessary, and that the relevant authority can exercise discretion in determining which condition to apply including whether a payment in lieu of planting replacement trees is appropriate.
Further amendments to PD12 include the introduction of a condition for co-located housing developments, and regulated or significant trees.
Co-located housing
PD12 introduces a new condition that must be imposed on a development authorisation for co-located housing that prescribes:
‘Co-located housing must be undertaken in accordance with the approved scheme description for the development site.’
This condition is introduced in the context of the Future Living Code Amendment (FLCA) (the FLCA is now live, with the spatial areas of where the co-located housing overlay applies now viewable on the South Australian Property and Planning Atlas), where community title land division will be used to facilitate the delivery of co-located housing. The FLCA proposed that scheme descriptions under the Community Titles Act 1996 (SA) (CT Act) would reinforce the use and management of shared or common land.
However, pursuant to section 15 of the CT Act, a key issue was that the lodgement of a scheme description with the Registrar-General was only required for: a community division creating more than six community lots; that creates a development lot (being an allotment created as part of a stage that is intended for further division); and where the community lots are for predominately residential purposes.
Typically, co-located housing would involve the creation of less than six community lots, and therefore scheme descriptions under the CT Act would be purely voluntary. Further, even in the event a scheme description was required, or voluntarily entered into, it can be altered by the community corporation in a manner that could compromise the initial intended outcomes for the co-located housing development.
To address these concerns the State Planning Commission proposed to amend PD12 with the above condition applicable to Co-Located Housing. Further legislative changes have followed to alleviate the concerns with the gazettal of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) (Co-Located Housing and Schedule 6) Amendment Regulations (Amendment Regulations). The Amendment Regulations came into force on 25 September 2025 and are available to read here. The Amendment Regulations provide that a scheme description is a prescribed requirement pursuant to section 119(1) of the PDI Act, through amendments to Schedule 8 of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017 (SA).
PD 11 and PD12 – Regulated or Significant Trees
PD11 and PD12 provide identical conditions for applications that are for or include the killing, destruction or removal of a regulated or significant tree. A relevant authority must apply as a condition either that:
- ‘Replacement trees must be planted within 12 months of completion of the development…’; or
- ‘Replacement trees must be planted within 12 months of occupation of the dwelling(s)…’; or
- payment in lieu of planting replacement trees ‘…must be made prior to the issue of development approval’.
(amendments marked in bold)
The amendment to the condition now provide that if a condition to plant replacement trees is imposed, that they must be planted either within 12 months of occupation of the dwellings, or 12 months of completion of the development. Further, if the relevant authority imposes a condition for a payment to be made in lieu of replacement trees, the payment now must be made prior to the issue of development approval. Previously, the payment had to be made prior to the undertaking of development on the land.
For more specific information on any of the material contained in this article please contact Gavin Leydon on +61 8 8210 1225 or gleydon@normans.com.au or Cayleigh Stock on +61 8 8210 1294 or cstock@normans.com.au.
