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Sustainable Design Assessment (SDA)

When do I have to submit an SDA Report or SMP Report?

Council requires that an SDA or SMP Report be submitted with any planning permit application for:

Two or more new dwellings
Other development (i.e. commercial and/or industrial) with a gross floor area of 500m2 or more
Alterations or additions with a gross floor area of 500m2 or more

Why submit an SDA or SMP Report?

A Sustainable Design Assessment (SDA) or Sustainability Management Plan (SMP) Report outlines your development’s sustainability initiatives.

You must first measure the sustainability of your development. Knox City Council has endorsed the use of the Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) assessment tools. These computer-based tools are an easy way to see if your proposed development measures up to standards of environmental performance. They can also show you simple ways to improve your design to reduce environmental impacts and achieve Council’s targets.

All planning permit applicants are strongly encouraged to make use of the Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard (BESS) for small to medium sized buildings and/or the Green Star – Design and As-Built (Design Review Certification) for larger buildings (over 2,000m2 or 10 or more dwellings). Relevant tools and resource links include:

Requirements for an SDA or SMP Report

Your development must achieve the minimum expectations for sustainable design performance as measured by the BESS / Green Star tool. The final tool output report should be submitted with your SDA or SMP Report.

The purpose of requesting planning permit applicants to use the web based assessment tools is to:

Make sure new buildings meet appropriate environmental performance standards.
Offer flexibility on how developments meet these standards with easy-to-use assessment tools.
Promote awareness and knowledge of the benefits of incorporating sustainability within developments from the planning stage.

For small/medium projects (2-9 additional dwellings or development/ alterations of a building between 500m2 and 2000m2):

Register your project on the Built Environment Sustainability Scorecard (BESS) tool and use this online tool to help you make decisions about how to reduce the environmental impacts of your project.
Create a Sustainable Design Assessment (SDA) Report outlining how sustainability initiatives will be implemented into your project.
Print the completed SDA Report, BESS Assessment, and STORM/ InSite Water reports and submit these with your planning submission.
Document your decisions by noting or drawing the major items below on the plans (e.g. eaves, shade structures and rainwater tanks).
Ensure that the project documentation including the architectural, landscape and drainage plans are fully consistent with the SDA Report.
The SDA Report will be endorsed as part of your final planning permit and must be fully implemented into the final building.

For larger developments (10 or more dwellings or development/ alterations of a building of more than 2000m2):

Register your project on BESS or alternatively use the Green Star Design and As-Built tool to help you make decisions about how to reduce the environmental impacts of your project.
Create a Sustainability Management Plan (SMP) Report outlining how sustainability initiatives will be implemented into your project. Appoint a qualified sustainability professional, if required.
Print the completed SMP Report, BESS or Green Star Design Review Submission, Energy Rating and STORM / MUSIC / InSite Water reports and submit these with your planning application.
Document your decisions by noting or drawing the major items below on the plans (eg. eaves, shade structures, bicycle parking, rainwater tank and raingardens).
Ensure that the project documentation including the architectural, landscape and drainage plans are fully consistent with the SMP Report.
The SMP Report will be endorsed as part of your final planning permit, and must be fully implemented into the final building.

Please note the sustainability aspects of the development application will be checked for consistency and for whether they meet Council’s requirements. Unsatisfactory submissions will be returned to the applicant. Council planning enforcement officers will also check that initiatives have been implemented once the project is complete.

Further Information and Support

In light of the above requirements and to provide further support with your planning permit application, we have provided the following documentation and guidelines:

For additional information on sustainable design, we recommend the “Your Home Technical Manual” and the Sustainable Design Assessment in the Planning Process (SDAPP) Factsheets at www.knox.vic.gov.au.