How to Speed Up Your CDC Approval with the Right Landscape Documentation

Eoin James Campbell
Aug 18
2 min read

If you’ve ever been frustrated by a Complying Development Certificate (CDC) taking longer than expected, chances are the landscape documentation played a role. While CDCs are designed to be a faster alternative to a full Development Application (DA), incomplete or unclear landscape plans can still stall the process.

Here’s how the right landscape documentation can keep your CDC moving smoothly—and save you time, money, and stress.

Why Landscape Plans Matter for CDCs

Even though CDCs are assessed against fixed standards (not council-specific policies), private certifiers still need confidence that your project complies with:

Private open space requirements.
Site coverage and permeability standards.
Setbacks for pools, fences, and structures.
Protection of existing trees.

If these aren’t clearly demonstrated in the landscape documentation, certifiers may refuse to sign off, creating delays.

Common Causes of CDC Delays

Vague site plans that don’t clearly distinguish between existing and proposed works.
Missing compliance notes for open space, setbacks, or coverage.
Unclear planting layouts that leave doubt about compliance with requirements.
Inconsistent drawings between architectural and landscape plans.

Certifiers aren’t there to interpret ambiguous drawings—they need documentation that makes compliance obvious.

How to Get it Right the First Time

Show compliance upfront – clearly label setbacks, open space, and coverage on the landscape plan.
Coordinate with the architectural set – ensure no conflicts between drawings.
Keep it lean but clear – CDC plans don’t need DA-level detail, but they do need to be legible and accurate.
Highlight key standards – make it easy for the certifier to tick off requirements.

The Role of Freelance Support

For many studios, preparing CDC landscape documentation isn’t the best use of in-house resources. Outsourcing can help by:

Delivering fast, compliant drawings tailored for certifiers.
Avoiding time lost to back-and-forth clarifications.
Freeing up your internal team to focus on design and delivery.

How Place Supply Can Help

At Place Supply, we specialise in streamlined, compliant landscape documentation that helps projects clear the CDC process quickly. With experience across residential and small-scale development, we provide:

Clear, certifier-ready drawings.
Coordination with your architectural and engineering packages.
Fast turnaround times to keep approvals on track.

👉 If CDC delays have ever held up your projects, the right landscape documentation could be the missing piece. Place Supply can help you move from submission to approval—without unnecessary hold-ups.