Does changing internal walls require an amendment to the DA?
ACT Planning explains that an approved DA does not need to be amended where the proposed change would not need DA approval if it were carried out after the development was completed, subject to specific exceptions.
However, this does not mean every internal change can automatically be made. If the change is not DA-exempt or changes the development beyond what is covered by the existing approval, an amendment may be needed.
An essential design element is also relevant if an amendment is required. ACT Planning states that where an essential design element included by another entity needs to be changed, that entity will decide the amendment application. It does not say that changing an essential design element by itself automatically means an amendment is required.
Building Approval requirements should also be checked separately, particularly if structural walls or other building-code requirements are affected.
Reference: ACT Planning – Amend or appeal an application – https://www.planning.act.gov.au/applications-and-assessments/development-applications/amend-or-appeal-an-application
Short Answer
Usually not. Changing internal walls generally does not require an amendment to the DA if the change would itself be DA-exempt and falls within the circumstances where an approved DA does not need amendment.
However, if the internal change is no longer covered by the existing approval and does not qualify for the exemption, a DA amendment may be required. Changes involving an essential design element may also affect how an amendment is assessed.
Detailed Explanation
ACT Planning's Amend or appeal an application ? DAs that don't need amendments states that some changes do not require an application to amend the Development Approval. This includes a change that would not require DA approval if made after the development was completed, except where the change increases the number of dwellings to two or more, results in more than two exempt Class 10 structures in a boundary clearance area, or results in more than one compliant single dwelling on the block.
Accordingly, an internal wall alteration that qualifies as DA-exempt development may be capable of being made without amending the existing DA.
Where an amendment is required, ACT Planning separately addresses essential design elements. It states that where an essential design element included by another entity needs to be changed, that entity will determine the amendment application. Essential design elements are also relevant to whether public notification of an amendment application can be waived: the Authority generally needs to be satisfied that the amendment does not involve changes inconsistent with an essential design element.
Therefore, changing internal walls does not automatically require a DA amendment, and affecting an essential design element does not, by itself, establish that an amendment is required. The first question is whether the proposed change is covered by the existing approval or falls within the circumstances where an amendment is not required. If an amendment is required, any effect on an essential design element becomes relevant to the amendment process.
No minimum block size does not remove the need for planning assessment.
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