Express DA accreditation application
To qualify for Accreditation for Express DA, the following must be submitted and complied with:
1.An applicant should submit a covering letter which, in addition to identifying example applications, explicitly outlines the following:
- Applicable Council benchmarks / standards / policies;
- Applicable State Planning Policies;
- Applicable Australian Standards;
- State Referral Agencies - who and what trigger?;
- A summary outline of the proposal and what the main or significant issues were with the application and how were they resolved; and
- Outline all the necessary supporting information and reports that were required to approve the development.
- Resumes detailing relevant experience and qualifications of assigned personnel
2.Provide examples of at least 2 applications for each Development Type being applied for, from each of the various development types listed below. Each example application must have been lodged and approved in the Cairns Regional Council area within the last 2 years of applying for accreditation.
Development Types are:
- Residential – Dwelling House
- Residential – Dual Occupancy
- Residential – Building Works
Note: If the consultant / consultancy only wishes to be accredited for specific uses or development types, this should be clearly stated in the accreditation kit and a covering letter submitted to Council.
3.Copies of the following current insurance policies outlining the insured amount, policy provider, policy number, date of commencement and expiry date of policy (to remain current for the term of the accreditation):
- Professional Indemnity Insurance to the value of $1,000,000 from an insurer and on terms acceptable to Council;
- Public Liability Insurance to the value of $20,000,000 from an insurer and on terms acceptable to Council;
- Any other insurance required by law, from an insurer and on terms acceptable to Council; and
- The insurance policies held and maintained by the consultancy must cover the acts or omissions of the individual consultant.
The Accredited Consultant / Consultancy is responsible for the following:
- Preparing reports that addresses the relevant policies / standards / benchmarks;
- Providing any necessary supporting information including drawings;
- Providing all necessary standard approval conditions;
- Lodging the application with Council.
The Accredited Consultant / Consultancy will not be responsible for the following:
- Assessing the Development Application
- Issuing Development Permits.
Council will endeavour to decide an application within ten business days of lodgement.
Note: Express DA transfers responsibility to the Accredited Consultant / Consultancy to ensure supporting information is accurate and contains sufficient detail as would otherwise be required by Council for review. If issues arise in future, Council may take legal steps against the Accredited Consultant / Consultancy to rectify the issue or matter.
If the application for accredited consultancy is approved, both the Consultant and Consultancy must sign a Deed of Agreement with Council, which confirms the roles and responsibilities of the Accredited Consultant(s) and is the basis on which Council and the Accredited Consultant / Consultancy will participate in the Express DA process.
The Express DA Assessment process is outlined below and must be understood and agreed to:
Stage 1 – Accredit Consultants
- Consultant and Consultancy must read the Accreditation Kit including Deeds of Agreement;
- Approval is subject to review of prior application quality or a probation period where application quality can be reviewed.
- Council may nominate conditions on an approval or by agreement to confirm the certification of the Accredited Express DA Consultant.
Stage 2 – Prepare and submit your application
- Accredited Consultant must prepare their development application using the Application Guideline ( PDF, 1.23 MB ).
- Accredited Consultant must prepare a consultant’s report using the Accredited Consultant’s standard report format ( DOCX, 0.2 MB ).
- Accredited Consultant to submit completed material including DA Form 1, Accredited Consultant’s standard report template and all other relevant documentation including plans and drawings for pre-submission validity check. Pre-submission meeting or discussions are to occur between Accredited Consultants and Council if and when required;
- Upon receiving a lodgement ready letter, Accredited Consultant must pay the applicable development application fees (retain the receipt of payment, this will be required for lodging the application)
- Accredited Consultant to lodge the development application using the Express DA – DA online portal
Stage 3 – Assessment & Decision
- Council as the assessment manager will assess the application and provide a decision within 10 business days.
A new Accredited Consultant / Consultancy will be on probation for the first three (3) applications lodged as part of the Express DA Assessment process. Under probation, Council will undertake an audit of the application prior to its approval. The probation program is to provide Council and the consultant with an understanding of the Express DA Assessment process.
Auditing will be performed by Council, at the Council’s discretion, to assess the adequacy of the process and the performance of the individual consultants.
Council may contact the Accredited Consultant / Consultancy during an audit process for information or assistance.
Any omissions, errors or misdirection’s will be discussed with the consultant and are grounds for removal from the Express DA process. Council may also undertake legal steps to rectify said errors or misdirections.
All standard templates, forms, criteria and conditions will be provided to an Accredited Consultant / Consultancy and can also be obtained from Cairns Regional Council’s website or from the Development Assessment Branch.
Last Updated: 10 May 2023
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