Planning and Design Code

The Planning and Design Code (the Code) is the cornerstone of South Australia’s new planning system.

The Code has now replaced all development plans to become the single source of planning policy for assessing development applications across the state.

Access the Code

About this instrument

The Code is a statutory instrument under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, for the purposes of development assessment and related matters within South Australia.

The Code is the cornerstone of South Australia’s new planning and development system, replacing all 72 hard copy Development Plans that have been in use across the state with a single set of online planning ‘rules’ for assessing development applications.

The Code provides South Australians with planning policy that is consistent and clear, making the planning process quicker, simpler and more equitable. This helps the community to navigate the planning system when building a house, developing a business or progressing large commercial developments. The Code is user-friendly and online, making the planning process quicker, smoother, and easier to understand than ever before.

You can view and browse the Planning and Design Code, search for what policies apply to a particular address or what policies apply to a particular development.

The Code is used for:

  • determining the rules that apply to your land
  • finding out the relevant assessment pathway that applies to what you want to do
  • making a comment on a re-zoning proposal for a particular site/land.

The Planning and Design Code contains overlays, zones, sub-zones and general development policies which together provide all the rules that apply to a particular parcel of land.

The Guide to the Code (PDF, 2151 KB) details spatial layers and policies in the Code, and what they mean for development assessment purposes.

Components of the Planning and Design Code

The Planning and Design Code is written in plain language and focuses on performance outcomes and acceptable solutions that can be tailored to address local circumstances.

The Code divides land into zones, within which various uses of the land are set out as allowed. Further to zones, land can then be divided into subzones which includes additional rules for use of the land to protect local or special character. This establishes consistent zoning rules and gives certainty to the local community and planners. It also incorporates planning objectives from state, regional and local levels, as well as updated polices for assessing all forms of new development.

The Code addresses common issues that apply across different zones and subzones such as flood or bushfire risk; it includes performance requirements and recommended design techniques, public notification requirements

Use of the Code is supported by the provision of Design Standards which offer consistent standards for delivering basic infrastructure within public spaces. There is a set of Design Guidelines which offer best practice guidelines and advice about elements of good design. Furthermore, Design Review Panels provide specialist advice for larger projects on quality design outcomes as part of the development assessment process.

It is supported by the online PlanSA portal so that planning information is easily accessible, including electronic lodgement of applications.

The State Planning Commission lead the implementation of the Code over three consecutive phases, moving from less complex to more complex planning environments. This approach allows the Commission to minimise risk and apply key learnings along the way, adjusting the deployment approach as required.

The three implementation phases are outlined below:

  1. Phase One (1 July 2019): Code introduced to the outback (land not within a council area)
  2. Phase Two (31 July 2020): Code introduced to rural councils with small towns and settlements
  3. Phase Three (19 March 2021): Code introduced to urban councils and councils with regional towns and cities.

An Engagement Report (PDF, 41360 KB) and an accompanying Summary of the Engagement Report (PDF, 14335 KB) which outline the changes made to the Code in response to public feedback was released in March 2021.

These reports, along with the following documents, form the final advice to the Minister from the State Planning Commission.

The full Code is now in effect across the entire state and made available to all South Australians via the PlanSA portal.

The Code Amendment Toolkit provides an overview of the amendment process and includes a range of templates and tools to help prepare for undertaking a code amendment. Practice Direction 2 - Preparation of Designated Instrument has also been issued by the State Planning Commission to outline the information requirements for consulting on a designated instrument and for preparing a code amendment.

Documents

If you can't find a document, try searching PlanSA's resources library.

Preparation of the Code

Extensive preparations and public consultation were undertaken in developing the Planning and Design Code.

Preparation of the Code involved state-wide consultation with councils, industry and the wider community in accordance with the Community Engagement Charter, as per the steps below:

  • review of Development Plans
  • development of the blueprint for the Planning and Design Code
  • development of high–level discussion papers
  • preparation of the Planning and Design Code library
  • spatial application of the Planning and Design Code library.

Review of Development Plans

An understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges associated with previous policies contained in Development Plans was the foundation of the Code library drafting process. To gain this understanding the department worked with all 68 Councils across the State to undertake a Development Plan Review.

Development Plan Reviews provided high level findings regarding:

  • opportunities to consolidate existing duplicated policy
  • challenges and issues associated with existing policy
  • policy that works well that should be considered for inclusion within the Planning and Design Code
  • gaps within existing policy that need to be addressed to guide new and emerging forms of development.

Key findings from Development Plan Reviews were used in the preparation of Discussion Papers.

Development of the blueprint for the Planning and Design Code

The Blueprint for South Australia’s Planning and Design Code introductory paper (PDF, 6588 KB) provides the outline to the Code and sets the scene for ongoing conversations with planners, developers, local governments and the community to actively engage in its preparation. It provides a foundation for a series of policy and technical discussion papers that together will underpin the Code.

Development of high level discussion papers

Drafting the first generation of the Planning and Design Code is a significant and complex task. To achieve progressive certainty in this task, a comprehensive set of high level directions that guide the Code library drafting stage are being prepared. These directions are being progressively set out in a suite of discussion papers that encompass both a policy and technical approach.

Discussion papers synthesise the findings of the Development Plan Review and capture the outcomes of collaboration with practitioners and thought leaders to:

  • define the scope of the first generation of the Code
  • establish guiding principles for the content of the Code
  • identify potential zones, subzones and overlays for inclusion in the Code
  • identify policy and procedural directions and options for zones, subzones and overlays
  • detail relationships between the Code and other instruments created under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016.

Policy discussion series

There are four policy discussion papers which focus on important issues informing the creation of the Planning and Design Code:

Technical discussion series

There are three technical discussion papers which focus on operational aspects the Planning and Design Code:

Preparation of the Planning and Design Code library

Preparation of the Planning and Design Code library involved drafting the content of the zones, subzones and overlays that together comprise the Code.

The existing South Australian Planning Policy Library (SAPPL) was used as the foundation for this drafting process. Relevant policies within SAPPL were reviewed and converted into the new Code.

Spatial application of the Planning and Design Code library

Spatial application of the Planning and Design Code library was the final stage in implementing the first generation of the Code.

This stage involved selecting zones, subzones, overlays and general development modules from the Code library for application to land across the state. This process of selection was undertaken in collaboration with councils and was the subject of engagement with affected communities in accordance with the principles of the Community Engagement Charter.

Following public consultation, the Code came into effect in the outback regions of South Australia in July 2019, rural council areas on 31 July 2020 and urban council areas on 19 March 2021.