September 2026

A message from the Chair of the State Planning Commission – Craig Holden

Importantly, Local Area Plans allow conversations about growth to happen before individual development proposals emerge. Rather than reacting to change, councils can work with their communities to consider where growth is appropriate, what it should look like, and how it can be supported by investment in roads, open space, community facilities and other essential infrastructure. This is the essence of plan-led development. 

To help make the most of this opportunity, the State Planning Commission and the Department for Housing and Urban Development are actively engaging with local council mayors, chief executives and the Local Government Association. Together, we are exploring how best to support councils through the Local Area Planning process and ensure community engagement is meaningful, comprehensive and reflective of local aspirations. 

I encourage councils, industry and community members to embrace this opportunity as we work together to shape thriving, well-planned communities for future generations. 

Finally, I recommend reading Commission member Lisa Teburea's insightful SPC Spotlight article, The Questions That Help Shape Good Planning. Lisa explores some of the fundamental questions that underpin good planning, from understanding the needs of current and future communities, to recognising what makes places distinctive, aligning growth with infrastructure, and balancing local priorities with broader state objectives. It is a thoughtful reflection on the complexity of planning and a timely reminder that good outcomes are achieved when decisions are informed by evidence, community input and a long-term view of the future. 

I hope you enjoy this edition and the updates it shares from across South Australia's planning system. 

A message from the Executive Director Planning and Building – Marc Voortman

These results reflect the collective efforts of the planning and development sector, including state and local government, industry and the broader community. During the 2025 calendar year alone, PlanSA received more than 38,000 development applications, demonstrating the significant level of activity occurring across the state. 

While these figures are encouraging, they also represent something much more important: more South Australians gaining access to housing, greater housing choice and stronger foundations for future economic growth. 

The Department for Housing and Urban Development continues to play a key role in enabling these outcomes through strategic planning, code amendments, assessment reform and system improvements. During the 2025-26 financial year, DHUD delivered:

• 99 active code amendments, with 27 finalised, including Chief Executive, State Planning Commission and third-party led amendments

• 4,210 hectares of residential land unlocked, supporting capacity for approximately 19,820 homes

• 114 hectares of employment land unlocked, supporting around 6,000 jobs

• more than $3.36 billion in development value lodged through State Planning Commission assessment processes. 

Together, these achievements are helping to support the South Australian Government's target of delivering 13,500 homes each year while creating opportunities for employment, investment and sustainable growth. 

I am proud of the work being undertaken across the planning and development sector to deliver these outcomes and look forward to continuing our shared efforts to create well-planned land use and fulfil our vision of a place for everyone.

State-Wide Flood Hazard Code Amendment update

Consultation on the draft State-Wide Flood Hazard Code Amendment was open from 21 May to 13 August 2026. 

More than 80 submissions were received from community, councils, state government agencies, industry and advocacy organisations during the consultation period.  

Submissions provided a range of feedback and comments on a wide range of topics. 

The key themes raised in submissions were: 

• accuracy of the mapping 
• impacts of flood mitigation works 
• future overlay updates, particularly relating to access to updated mapping data and ease of updating mapping 
• climate modelling  
• implementation guidance and council involvement 
• vulnerable communities and emergency access 
• housing and development impacts, particularly on stormwater management 
• precautionary approach, particularly relating to the Hazard (Flooding – Evidence Required) Overlay.

All feedback is now being collated and carefully considered in finalising the State-Wide Flood Hazard Code Amendment to be submitted to the State Planning Commission and the Minister for Planning for a decision. 

We will provide a more detailed summary of what we heard during consultation in the next edition of Planning Ahead.

Consultation closes soon: proposed miscellaneous amendments to the Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017

The South Australian Government is seeking feedback on proposed regulation amendments to improve transparency for applicants in relation to building indemnity insurance, better outline administrative processes, and make technical refinements. 

Some of the key amendments would: 

• restructure Schedule 8 to clarify what plans and other documentation is relevant for verification and assessment of development applications 
• ensure that building indemnity insurance is obtained prior to the commencement of building works where required 
• allow basic infrastructure schemes to be varied to become primary infrastructure schemes 
• allow applicants to nominate their chosen water industry entity or entities for the provision of water supply and sewerage services as part of a land division application. 

Consultation closes on Thursday, 24 September 2026. 

Reminder: DAP Classic decommissioning from 24 September 2026

From 24 September 2026, DAP Classic will be decommissioned, and access will no longer be available.  

This means all applicants, relevant authorities and referral bodies will use the current DAP dashboard to manage, track and progress development applications. This dashboard provides a more consistent user experience and supports improved visibility, filtering, sorting and access to dashboard information. 

To prepare for this change, we have already released a range of improvements to all homepages and will continue to deliver further updates in the coming weeks. Details of these improvements are available on the PlanSA Release notes webpage. 

These improvements have been delivered in response to the valuable feedback received from users over the past 12 months. 

To support users with navigating the current dashboard, support materials such as videos can be accessed via the PlanSA Support library webpage. Videos demonstrate new features and showcase the improvements that have been made. 

We encourage you to stay informed by regularly visiting the PlanSA Release notes webpage, as well as continuing to familiarise yourself with the enhanced dashboard prior to 24 September 2026.   

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact the PlanSA Service Desk at plansa@sa.gov.au. 

Survey Operations team recognised at the 2026 EISSI Awards 

L – R: Kane Ryan, John Linsell, Bradley Slape, Damien Ferretti. Absent: Marc Blundell.

The often-unseen work of cadastral surveying and land tenure reform has been recognised at the 2026 South Australian Excellence in Surveying and Spatial Information (EISSI) Awards, with our Survey Operations team named joint winners in the Rural Cadastral Surveying and Land Tenure category. 

Their award-winning work on the Angorigina (aka Angorichina) Area Land Recovery Project in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park helped unlock approximately 4,500 hectares for future inclusion in the national park through the resolution of complex boundary, tenure and easement issues. 

Delivered for the Department for Environment and Water, the project highlights how specialist surveying expertise can help achieve enduring environmental, land management and strategic planning outcomes, including supporting the Flinders Ranges World Heritage nomination.

Identifying and protecting permanent survey marks

The Office of the Surveyor-General is working to raise awareness of the importance of permanent survey marks and what they look like, to help protect this key component of South Australia’s surveying and spatial framework. 

Survey marks serve as valuable state infrastructure, underpinning the surveying of property boundaries, mapping, development and construction activities. They contain precise coordinate and height information, providing the stable geodetic reference frame that connects surveys and other spatial datasets.

As their importance is not always well understood, these survey marks can sometimes be disturbed, damaged or removed during construction works, creating additional costs and delays for future surveying work. 

To help protect survey marks, before beginning any works that disturb the ground:

• check SAPPA for survey marks as part of the planning process  
• contact the Office of the Surveyor-General if survey marks may be impacted   
• factor in their protection as part of the project design.

This short video explains more about where survey marks are located and how to protect them, and this useful Save that survey mark flyer can be printed and displayed to help raise awareness.