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Westpoint Group
NSW Remedial Group
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Westpoint GroupEvery NSW development application states an estimated development cost. Who may work that figure out depends on the amount, on the kind of development, and on the council. This page sets out what the state framework says and what 6 councils ask for, with the source and the date against each one.
The circular sets one method for estimating development cost across NSW, and says who should work the figure out at each amount. Read the words it uses. They are not all the same strength.
| Estimated development cost | Who can prepare the report |
|---|---|
| Under A$100,000 | You, the applicant, or a suitably qualified person |
| A$100,000 to A$3 million | A suitably qualified person, such as a licensed builder, a registered architect, an accredited building designer or a quantity surveyor |
| Above A$3 million | A registered quantity surveyor, a member of the AIQS or RICS |
That is the state rule under Planning Circular PS 25-004. A quantity surveyor is on its list of suitably qualified people in every band below A$3 million, and is the preparer it names above A$3 million.
Councils also set their own requirements, and some ask for a registered quantity surveyor well below A$3 million. A few set their own form and their own credential as well. Check your council's DA requirements before you lodge.
Under A$3 million the circular says the cost should be estimated by the applicant or a suitably qualified person, with the method submitted alongside the application.
Above A$3 million, and leaving aside state significant work, the circular says it is recommended that a report verifying the cost should be submitted, prepared by a qualified quantity surveyor who is a member of a relevant professional body. For state significant development and infrastructure the circular hardens that: a report prepared by an AIQS certified or RICS chartered quantity surveyor is required.
Above A$3 million the circular also asks for more than a signature. In its words, the report is to be prepared using the AIQS practice standard for estimating development costs, submitted in the standard form of quantity surveyor report available on the NSW Planning Portal, and based on cost estimates current as of that date and dated no earlier than 30 days from when the application is submitted.
The department's own estimated development cost page puts the same threshold more plainly. Its frequently asked questions say, in its words, that if your project's estimated development cost is over A$3 million you must submit a report, and that for projects under A$3 million a cost estimate report is recommended and councils set specific requirements for those reports.
Those two readings are not identical, and this page does not pick between them. A circular sentence is not a full legal answer, and neither is a website answer. Nothing here is legal advice. Check with your council, and take advice if the amount is near a threshold.
Below A$3 million the state framework does not ask for a quantity surveyor. It asks for a suitably qualified person, and it defines the term in a footnote.
The footnote lists a builder who is licensed to undertake the proposed works, a registered architect, a qualified and accredited building designer, a quantity surveyor, or a person who is licensed and has the relevant qualifications and proven experience in costing development works at least to a similar scale and type as is proposed.
So an architect or a licensed builder can prepare the estimate below A$3 million, and the state framework accepts it. The reason to buy a signed report below that amount is not that the state makes you. It is what your council asks for, and what an independent signature is worth when the figure is tested.
A small list, each entry read from the council's own current document or page. Councils change these without notice, so treat every entry as true on the date shown and check the council before you lodge.
A cost summary report is “Required for developments where the value of works are $3million or less”.
A quantity surveyor’s report is “Required for developments where the value of works is more than $3million” and “Must be signed by a registered Quantity Surveyor”.
For “Development up to $100,000” and for “Development with an estimated cost under $500,000”, “Council will accept a cost estimate prepared by the applicant or a builder’s quote”.
For “Development with an estimated cost between $500,000 and $1 million”, “A suitably qualified person must prepare a cost estimate including the methodology used to calculate the cost.”
For “Development over $1,000,000”, “Council will require a detailed cost report prepared by a registered Quantity Surveyor.”
“$0 to $150,000: A cost summary report prepared by the applicant or a suitably qualified person.”
“$150,000 to $3 million: A cost summary report prepared by a suitably qualified person.”
“Over $3 million: An independent quantity surveyor detailed cost report verifying the cost.”
“Development with an estimated cost of up to $100,0000 is able to be estimated by the Applicant.”
“Development with an estimated cost between $100,001 and $3,000,000 requires this form to be completed by a Building Industry Professional (Architect/Designer, Registered Builder).”
“Development with an estimated cost over $3,000,001 requires this form or a Quantity Surveyors report to be prepared by a Quantity Surveyor (AIQS/RICS professional).”
The council’s development application page says “If the cost of your development is $500,000 or more, a detailed cost report will need to be prepared by a Registered Quantity Surveyor.”
The cost report form it links says that where “the estimated development cost is less than $500,000”, “a Cost Summary Report is required (prepared by a suitably qualified person)”.
The same form says that where “the estimated development cost is $500,000 or more”, “an Estimated Development Cost Report submitted in the standard form (prepared by a quantity surveyor who is a registered member of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors) is required”.
“For DAs with development costs up to $100,000 the estimated cost can be supplied by the applicant or a suitably qualified person using the methodology set out in this guide.”
“For DAs with development costs between $100,000 and $3 million, Council will require a cost estimate report from an independent, qualified builder, architect, building designer or quantity surveyor using the methodology set out in this guide.”
“For development costs exceeding $3 million, a quantity surveyor’s cost report will be required.”
Two of the 6 ask for a quantity surveyor well below the A$3 million figure in the circular. Randwick asks at A$500,000 or more. Central Coast asks above A$1,000,000.
Three are working partly from guidance the state has replaced. Wollondilly points to PS21-020 and PS21-022, and Central Coast and Randwick's own form point to PS 24-002. PS 25-004 replaced all three in October 2025.
Read the boundaries as each council writes them. Central Coast's applicant band is “under $500,000”, so A$500,000 exactly sits in the band above it. Northern Beaches writes “over $3,000,001” after a band that ends at A$3,000,000, which leaves A$3,000,001 itself between two sentences. Northern Beaches' own first band carries a typographical error, “$100,0000”. These are the councils' words, not ours, and they are quoted rather than tidied.
This is the honest state of it. You cannot answer the question from the state page alone, and no provider can tell you your council's threshold without reading your council's own document.
Section 6 of the Regulation excludes GST from it. That is the figure that sets the approval pathway.
For local and regionally significant applications the fee is worked out on the cost plus GST. The circular asks every estimate to show the cost, the GST and the sum of the two.
A separate basis under section 208 of the Regulation. The department states plainly that estimated development cost does not affect development levies.
This is why a council form can look as though it contradicts itself and does not. Four of the councils above use a form whose cost table is totalled exclusive of GST, citing section 6, and whose declaration asks the signer to certify that GST was included in the total development cost. Those two lines are about different numbers. The table is the estimated development cost. The declaration is the fee and levy total, which the same forms tie to clause 256 for fees and clause 208 for contributions.
Before you decide two documents disagree, check which of the three numbers each one is measuring. Wollondilly and Blacktown's older guide both write about the fee figure, and both say GST is included in it. That is the fee figure behaving normally, not a council rejecting the state definition.
No report changes whether a council approves a development. These are the reasons that survive that.
The state framework names a quantity surveyor among the suitably qualified people who may estimate the cost below A$3 million, and names a quantity surveyor as the preparer above it. What that does not mean is that one report satisfies every council. Councils set their own forms, and Randwick sets its own credential: at A$500,000 or more its form asks for an AIQS certified or RICS chartered quantity surveyor. Read your council’s own document before you order.
The estimate is prepared by someone who is not designing or building the project. That is worth something when a council tests whether an estimate is genuine.
Every element is measured from your drawings and priced from a published rate. If a council queries a figure, there is a line to point at.
The cost form from Planning Circular PS 25-004 is filled in with the same figures and signed, as an appendix to the report.
One price for any residential development application, whatever its size, with the state's cost form completed and signed.
Council cost report
A$999 inc GST
Any residential job, whatever its size. One development application, delivered within 24 hours.
If our quantity surveyor cannot certify a report from the documents supplied, we refund the order in full.
The report is prepared to Planning Circular PS 25-004 and the AIQS practice standard, and it is signed by a registered quantity surveyor.
If your council names a specific item we missed, we reissue at the corrected quantity at no charge.
The state material is Planning Circular PS 25-004, issued October 2025, and the department's estimated development cost page, which shows an updated date of 13 May 2026. Both were read in full on 22 September 2026, and section 6 and section 208 were read in the Regulation itself.
Each council entry above links the council document or page it came from, with the date that document carries and the date it was read. Nothing on this page comes from a search summary or from another provider's article.
What was read and deliberately left off:
What this page does not do: it does not tell you whether a lender or an insurer will accept a report, because that was not checked. It does not cover any state other than NSW. It does not cover state significant development beyond naming it. And it is not legal advice.
A$999 inc GST. Signed by a registered quantity surveyor, delivered within 24 hours.
24 hours from payment and a complete plan set, Monday to Friday. Orders after 2 pm Friday are delivered by Monday. Read the full terms.