Rebuilding Your Home DA Information

A checklist and guide to preparing your Development Application

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Rebuilding Your Home - Checklist for New Dwellinigs

We are working with our community in the rebuilding efforts following the recent events. All rebuild applications will be fast tracked to help you get back into your homes.

This checklist is designed to help guide you through what you need to do to rebuild.

To achieve a streamlined, fast development process, we recommend you engage the services of a suitably qualified building consultant/designer to put your application together for you.

We're here to help

If after reading the following information, you have any questions regarding the rebuild process, please contact the Council on (02) 6499 2222 or email council@begavalley.nsw.gov.au

Useful Information

Quick links

• How do I find out the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) Rating?
• Biodiversity Assessment
  • Biodiversity Conservation Act
  • Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act)
• Licenced Building verses Owner Builder
• My property has been identified as containing asbestos
• What is an Aboriginal Due Diligence Statement?
• What is a BASIX Certificate?
• What is an Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System Report and how do I get one?
• What is an Aboriginal Due Diligence Statement?
• Due Diligence Assessment - Application requirements

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How do I find out the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) Rating?

Your level of bushfire risk affects your development requirements – the higher the risk, the more protection you need. We use the term ‘bushfire attack level’, or BAL, to quantify this risk. Your level of bushfire risk is affected by the area you live, the vegetation, the distance from the vegetation to your home, and the slope. As part of your rebuild process, you will need to confirm your BAL in a written report.

Council can arrange for one of our staff to visit your property and determine your BAL rating for you.  This will be only up to BAL 40 (not flame zone).  If you would like this service provided, please email council@begavalley.nsw.gov.au and in the subject line include the words BAL assessment, your property address and your Lot Number and DP.

You can also find out your bushfire category going to NSW Planning Portal website www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au

• Click on Find a Property
• Enter property address or Lot & DP
• On the left hand side of the screen under Hazard – click the down arrow and click in the box next to Bushfire Prone Land
• On the right hand side of the screen click the + symbol next to Bushfire Prone Land
• This will then show the bushfire category/categories relevant to your property.
• For category 1, 2 or 3 vegetation/grasslands or vegetation buffer you will need to complete Section Two Bushfire Assessment on pages 19-24 of Building in bushfire prone areas Single Dwelling Application kit to determine your BAL rating.

This document can be found at: www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/4355/Guidelines-for-Single-Dwelling-Development-Applications.pdf

If you need to engage the services of a Bushfire Planning and Design Consultant (BPAD), a list of accredited assessors can be found at www.fpaa.com.au

Please contact Council on (02) 6499 2222 should you need any further assistance.

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Biodiversity Assessment

Minimum lot size associated whe property	Threshold for clearing, above which the BAM and offsets scheme apply
Less than 1 ha	0.25 ha or more
1 ha tless than 40 ha	0.5 ha or more
40 ha to less than 1000 ha	1 ha or more
1000 ha or more	2 ha or more

Table 1 Biodiversity Offsets Scheme clearing area thresholds (Council can confirm which minimum Lot size applies)

Further information on the BOS can be found at the link below: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/biodiversity/biodiversity-offsets-scheme/how-it-works

Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act)

The EPBC Act is the Australian Governments key piece of environmental legislation, focussing on the protection of matters of national environmental significance including species and ecosystems.

Potential impacts to matters of environmental significance need to be assessed as part of a Development Application and council staff will assist applicants through this process.

Further information on the EPBC Act and associated environmental assessment can be found at https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/environment-assessment-and-approvals

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Licenced Building verses Owner Builder

Registered builders are insured tradesmen who manage the build including the contracting of licenced tradespeople. They are responsible for managing permits and organising inspections on your behalf.

As an owner builder, you take on many of the responsibilities of a registered builder and accept any associated financial risks. Responsibilities include:

• doing all or part of the work yourself, except work that must be carried out by licensed tradespeople
• contracting out all or part of the work to tradespeople, and checking they are registered and licensed if required
• choosing whether to engage a building consultant to independently advise you during the construction period. A building consultant can check the quality of your work and the work of those you engage
• arranging insurance
• occupational health and safety of workers
• obtaining permits and organising inspections

Advantages may include:

• more control over the project, including design
• saving the cost of the builder’s margin
• more flexibility

Risks include:

• spending more money and time than expected
• taking responsibility for the work and finance
• facing complex situations

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My property has been identified as containing asbestos

Is there any additional paperwork I need before I can start my re-build?

Once the site has been cleaned by either the NSW Government’s appointed contractor or your self-appointed contractor, you will need to ask for the Occupational Hygienist’s Clearance Certificate. Council (or your Private Certifier) will need to sight a copy of that Certificate prior to the issue of a Construction Certificate.

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What does my site plan need to include?

Your A3 site plan should include:

• First & secondary land application areas if having new absorption trenches for an onsite sewage management system
• Site levels
• Storm water drainage
• All distances to boundaries and between proposed developments on your site.
• The Asset Protection Zone (APZ) area. The APZ dimensions need to demonstrate the boundaries of the property plus the distance and slope (in degrees) to the bushfire threat (hazard)
• The site plan will need to clearly label any trees that are there and any marked for removal. We will require photos of any trees that you may propose for removal as part of this build.
• If you are removing any native vegetation (including ground cover e.g. native grasses) you will need to complete the attached Biodiversity Values Map & Threshold Tool (BMAT) report- see link below to ensure the amount of clearing you are proposing to do is under the threshold.www.lmbc.nsw.gov.au/Maps/index.html?viewer=BOSETMap
• The site plan will need to show the calculations for clearing with all these areas considered: House footprint, earthworks, Asset Protection Zone, driveway, access road & site work.
• If you are not clearing any native vegetation, we will need a statement from you to confirm this and a site photo to support your claim.

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What is a BASIX Certificate?

The Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) requirements apply to all residential dwelling types and are part of the development application process in NSW. In NSW, there are BASIX requirements for water and energy usage and thermal comfort performance that apply to:

• all new residential dwellings
• alterations and additions to dwellings that cost $50,000 or more
• swimming pools of 40,000 litres or more

To obtain your BASIX Certificate, call the Department of Planning dedicated BASIX bushfire recovery hotline 1300 054 464 or visit www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/planning-tools/basix

• All BASIX commitments need to be clearly shown on plans and specifications.
• The certificate is only valid for three months.

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What is an Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System Report and how do I get one?

The Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS) is a database that contains detailed information on recorded sites of Aboriginal and Cultural Heritage. It is used to help identify, manage, conserve and protect local sites and heritage. In line with the current legislation, we require an Aboriginal Heritage Information Management Systems (AHIMS) report (this is a 2 page document) as part of your Development Application. Please ensure you set the search parameter to 200m.

Reports can be obtained from: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/awssapp/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fawssapp%2fMySearches.aspx.

If you are having issues obtaining this report on your property, contact ahims@environment.nsw.gov.au.

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What is an Aboriginal Due Diligence Statement?

In accordance to legislative requirements, the Aboriginal Due Diligence Statement demonstrates that you have considered:

• any potential impacts on items of Aboriginal Heritage; plus
• the potential likelihood of Aboriginal artefacts being contained within the site to be disturbed; and
• that should any objects or places be found within the site, works will stop immediately and the relevant authorities will be contacted.

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Due Diligence Assessment - Application requirements:

Where a development will disturb the ground surface and/or may impact on Aboriginal cultural or spiritual values, the development application must demonstrate that a Due Diligence assessment has been undertaken by the applicant or a suitably qualified person. This includes (but is not limited to) submitting the following documentation in accordance with the Due Diligence Code of Practice for the Protection of Aboriginal Objects in NSW:

• A statement and results of a basic 200m AHIMS search. Where a site is identified within 200m of the development site the results of an extensive AHIMS search are required.
• A statement identifying whether the development site is partially or wholly within the area identified as having ahigh probability of Aboriginal cultural heritage values on the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Landscape Map(see Figure 5.1b).
• A statement indicating whether there are landscape features that indicate the potential presence of Aboriginal objects. Landscape features include foreshore areas, creek lines, rocky areas, wetlands, ridge tops, ridgelines, headlands, sand dunes and caves. Figure 5.1a illustrates several landscape features where there is potential for Aboriginal sites to occur.
• A statement indicating if previous Aboriginal Cultural Heritage studies have been undertaken on the subject land Note: if any previous Aboriginal Cultural Heritage studies demonstrate that adequate Due Diligence was undertaken at that time, those reports can be taken into consideration. Council staff may be able to assist you in locating any previous reports.
• A statement indicating if the development site is a within a declared Aboriginal Place of Significance as listed in Schedule 5 of the Bega Valley Local Environmental Plan 2013.

For more information refer to Section 5.1 Aboriginal Heritage in Bega Valley Development Control Plan (BVDCP) 2013.

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