This section deals with land-use planning and the assessment of development proposals. Most of the law in this area is contained in the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) and all references are to the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act unless otherwise stated.

A new planning system

The Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) was assented to on 17 April 2017, and has been gradually implemented across 5 years. The new planning system fully commenced on 19 March 2021 and has now completely replaced the previous planning system under the Development Act 1993 (SA). The Development Act 1993 has been repealed and no longer applies to the planning and development process in South Australia. The Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) has been implemented in three phases across all council regions in South Australia.

The three phase implementation of the new Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 was implemented as follows:

Phase 3 of the implementation of the new development scheme applies to the following council areas:

The key feature to the new planning system is the replacement of the current Development Plan process with the new Planning and Design Code. Under the new system, development applications will be submitted and tracked through an online ‘ePlanning’ portal. The new Planning and Design Code will be applied in each region in a manner consistent with the relevant regional development plan.

To determine what planning policies apply to each council area, or to browse the new Planning & Design Code, visit the PlanSA website (opens new window).