Planning law in South Australia
This factsheet explains land-use planning, the public’s right to participate in land-use planning in South Australia (SA), and the strategic importance of public engagement. It will be useful for anyone who wants to understand how development is assessed, comment on a development application or challenge a decision made under the planning laws.
Key takeaways
In SA, the main law regulating land use is the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) (PDI Act). The main objective of the PDI Act is to “support and enhance the State’s liveability and prosperity” in an ecologically sustainable way by creating an “effective, efficient and enabling planning system” that “promotes and facilitates development” and provides for “community participation in relation to the initiation and development of planning policies and strategies.”
The three main categories of development under the PDI Act are:
- Accepted development
- Code assessed development
- Impact assessed development
Key actions
Visit:
- PlanSA’s Find Out If You Need Approval wizard tool to determine whether a DA is required for a proposed development.
- PlanSA’s Planning and Design Code portal to input an address and find out which development rules apply
- State Developments to view and have your say on Crown developments, major projects, impact assessed developments and restricted developments on public notice
- Current Public Notices to view and have your say on DAs on public notice
- How To Have Your Say for guidance on how to prepare your representation.
