Common Questions on the new electronic system:

Creating an account and lodging an application

Q. What happens for people that don’t have an email account to register?

A. When submitting an application, the applicant is able to select ‘Post’ as their preferred communication method, and this will ensure they receive further correspondence in relation to their application via posted hard copy. Applicants are able to access a free email service to create and verify their online account. Council may choose to assist the applicant lodge their application, and choose to waive the hard copy lodgement fee, as appropriate.

Q. Is property rural addressing accepted in address searches?

A. Yes – Rural Property Addresses are shown in the system. Please see the screenshot attached to this email and be in contact if you have any further questions.

Fees and charges

Q. If we get questions regarding the fees for inspections for example dwelling 240.00  when does the applicant pay, at the start?

A. Fees will be allocated to an application during the verification stage. There may a slight chance that additional fees may be added during assessment.

Q. How do we take payment for cheque or cash?

A. Payment by cash and cheque can be processed into Council systems. Once processed, it can be recorded in DAP by using the ‘Record External Payment’ function that was covered in today’s webinar content. You can also view the learning guide that supports this on the SA Planning Portal. Specific information on recording external fee payments is covered in Section 8.2 of the Fee Payments guide.

Q. When councils receive payment of fees over the counter, how do they make payment to DTPI?  Will council's be invoiced each month/quarter by DPTI?

A. A disbursement process will be run daily to calculate fees owed to relevant authorities. For fees paid direct to a council or referral agency, a ‘negative disbursement’ will occur. This will mean that any fees owed to council will reduce by the value owed to DPTI. This is a very simple description of a complicated scenario. Please refer to the Net Disbursement Fact Sheet or Finance FAQ for further information.

Q. Have you considered offering BPay as a payment option on the invoices?

A. BPay is not available in the current system.  Council may decide to accept BPay or EFT via their own corporate systems using the ‘Record External Payment’ function to record the payment in DAP.

Q. If we help residents lodge their DA on the public computer. Does Council still charge the specific additional hard copy lodgement fee?

A. The Hard Copy lodgement fee is intended to be charged when Council is lodging an application on behalf of the applicant (i.e. providing hard copy over the counter). Dependent upon individual Council process, there may be the opportunity to waive this fee when providing support to community members.

Required actions notifications

Q. Is there only one email sent when an applicant is required to take action, or do they receive regular emails until the action is undertaken?

A. This was a great question! Currently, only one email will be sent. If this task is your responsibility, you can view outstanding required actions by running a weekly report. To do this, view the Advanced Search function using Consent Status of Mandatory information required in the Verification or Information requested in the Assessment. This search should return results of assessments with required actions.

I have been informed that a new reporting function is currently in development, and this should also assist you to see details of outstanding required actions and information requests. If, once you tried these interim solutions, you should find that they do not meet your needs, please submit a feature request via your council liaison officer.

Assistance for contractors

Q. Is any assistance being organised for Contractors that regularly lodge development applications?

A. High volume applicants have been contacted and provided access to the training materials available on the SA Planning Portal explaining how the new system works.  I have been informed that community webinars have been scheduled and contractors are able to participate in these sessions. Additionally, contractors that may have pre-registered to receive information will have been receiving updates from DPTI.

Exceeding application timeframes

Q. What are the consequences should the application not be finalised in the 20 day period?

A. If an assessment is not made on an application within the required timeframe, the applicant may trigger a deemed consent. In this circumstance a process will be followed to approve the application. However, Council can intervene to issue consent with conditions themselves or appeal to the court.

Q. Are assessment timeframes in business days?

A. Yes, timeframes are in whole business days.

Withdrawing applications

Q. What if an applicant decides they no longer wish to proceed with an application?

A. An applicant can withdraw an application at any time prior to a decision being made. Individual councils/authorities will need to decide if they refund fees paid.