The certificate can be easy to overlook among the attachments to a sale contract. Give it a separate place in your buying checklist: identify the land it covers, check which certificate you have, and turn unfamiliar entries into specific questions. This guide explains that reading process. It does not interpret an individual contract or confirm that your intended use of a property is permitted.
What is the difference between 10.7(2) and 10.7(5)?
| Certificate | What it contains | Your next question |
|---|---|---|
| Section 10.7(2), or Part 2 | Required planning information, such as zoning, relevant planning instruments, heritage and contribution-plan matters. | Which entries need explanation for this purchase? |
| Combined section 10.7(2) and (5) | Part 2 plus additional planning information council holds, which may include environmental constraints or other relevant matters. | What additional information is supplied, and does it call for another report or enquiry? |
These distinctions follow Northern Beaches Council's certificate guidance. Councils may present their certificates differently. Ask your conveyancer which type and supporting information are appropriate for the land and transaction; “combined” does not mean every possible property issue has been investigated.
When should a buyer look at the certificate?
Ask for the sale contract early enough to review its attachments and resolve questions. NSW Government's preparing-to-purchase guide identifies the zoning certificate among the documents to check and explains how a conveyancer or solicitor can help with the contract. Do not leave a confusing notation until you are ready to sign.
Keep the certificate with the version of the contract you received. If a replacement arrives, retain both versions and ask what changed. An auction deadline or another buyer's interest does not make an unanswered planning question disappear. For timing questions, see the separate NSW cooling-off guide.
Check the certificate's identity and issue date
Before interpreting any entry, check the certificate's identifying details against the contract documents with your conveyancer. A familiar street address is not enough if the sale involves several lots, a separate parking lot or a changed property description. This is an original record-keeping worksheet, not a government form or a reproduced certificate.
| Record | Check or question |
|---|---|
| Issuing council and certificate number | Can I identify the exact document everyone is discussing? |
| Address and lot/plan details | Does it cover the land included in the sale? Ask about any mismatch or additional lot. |
| Issue date and version received | When was it issued, and has a replacement or relevant change been identified? |
| Certificate type | Is it Part 2 or a combined Part 2 and Part 5 certificate? Is further information needed? |
| Entry and page reference | Record the exact heading and page containing the question; keep your interpretation separate. |
| Supporting document or enquiry | What plan, council response, report or professional explanation is still needed? |
| Person responsible and decision deadline | Who will resolve the question, and when do I need an answer before committing? |
Turn planning entries into questions about your intended use
Tell your conveyancer what matters to your purchase. If you want to extend a home, add another dwelling or run a business from the property, say so explicitly. Asking whether the paperwork is “all fine” gives them less to work with than describing the actual use or works you have in mind.
- Zoning or planning-instrument entry: which controls should a qualified planner check against the use or works I am considering?
- Heritage-related entry: what further records or advice would clarify the implications for my plans?
- Environmental or hazard notation: what does the entry actually address, and which separate investigation is needed?
- Reference to another plan, policy or attachment: have I received the relevant document and an explanation of its significance?
- A negative or blank response: what precise question was answered, and does my concern fall outside its scope?
These are suggested questions, not claims that every certificate contains those entries or that any particular development is allowed. Where flooding is the concern, use the separate flood-information checklist to organise council maps, reports and access questions.
What a planning certificate does not settle
Northern Beaches Council explicitly states that a planning certificate is not a development approval. Do not use it as evidence that an existing extension was approved or that a proposed renovation will be approved. Ask which approval records, inspections or specialist advice are needed for those separate questions.
A planning document answers planning questions within its scope. It does not replace the rest of the contract review, a building inspection or other property-specific checks. Keep a list of unresolved issues rather than turning the certificate into a pass/fail score for the whole purchase.
The issue date also deserves a question. Ask your conveyancer whether the supplied document is sufficiently current for the transaction and whether any later council information needs checking. This guide does not assign a universal expiry period or promise that a document of a particular age is adequate.
Can the NSW Planning Portal replace the certificate?
Use the NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer for planning context, then obtain and review the relevant council documents. The viewer's terms describe its material as reference information, note possible delays in updated spatial datasets and direct users to council for the latest non-EPI layer information. A map screen is not an issued certificate.
If a map and certificate seem inconsistent, record their dates, the selected layer and the land each refers to. Ask council or your adviser to explain the difference. Do not assume that the more recent-looking screen automatically resolves the legal or planning question.
Example: a renovation plan becomes a specific enquiry
Illustration only: a buyer likes a house because they hope to add a studio. They receive a combined certificate and initially treat the extra pages as reassurance. Instead, their worksheet records the zoning entry, the proposed studio use and the question: “Which controls and approval pathway would apply to this proposal, and who needs to assess it?” They ask their conveyancer to identify the relevant records and whether planning advice is needed before their purchase decision.
This example uses no real address, certificate wording or approval outcome. Its useful result is an assigned enquiry, not a conclusion that the studio is possible. Keep any council response alongside the document that prompted the question.
Five questions to send with the document
- Does this certificate cover all the land I am buying, and is it the appropriate type for our review?
- Which entries could matter to my stated use or plans for the property?
- Is any referenced information missing, unclear or in need of a current council check?
- Which questions need a planner, engineer, inspector or another specialist rather than a contract explanation alone?
- What remains unresolved before my next purchase decision, and who is following it up?
Keep contracts, certificates and professional correspondence in your own secure records. Share them only through the channels agreed with the people assisting you; there is no need to publish private documents or personal details to use this checklist.
Connect the document check to your wider property research
Use Baxau's property research guide and tool to organise broader evidence and questions alongside the property-checks collection. Baxau does not issue planning certificates, approve development or give a legal interpretation of your contract.
If you want an agent to help coordinate the search and follow-up tasks, put those needs in your buying brief and agree the scope of their service. You can request a Sydney buyers-agent introduction with no charge to enquire and no obligation to engage. Baxau may receive a referral fee negotiated case by case; read how matching works.