Do I need to design strictly within the Technical Specifications?
Designing to the Technical Specifications is generally the clearest pathway to demonstrating compliance, but they are not all automatically “hard rules.”
For example, if a Technical Specification provides a particular design benchmark and your proposal does not meet that benchmark exactly, this does not necessarily mean the DA must be refused. An alternative design may be proposed if you can adequately demonstrate how it still achieves the relevant Territory Plan Assessment Outcome. ACT Planning expressly describes Technical Specifications as providing guidance and possible approaches or benchmarks
The important distinction is:
- Assessment Requirement → mandatory and must be met.
- Assessment Outcome → the proposal must demonstrate that the outcome is achieved.
- Technical Specification → provides a benchmark/possible solution for demonstrating how an Assessment Outcome can be achieved; an alternative approach may be possible where the relevant Territory Plan provisions are still met.
Reference: ACT Planning Technical Specification – https://www.planning.act.gov.au/professionals/our-planning-system/the-territory-plan/technical-specifications
Short Answer
No. A development does not necessarily have to comply strictly with every numerical benchmark in the Technical Specifications. The Technical Specifications provide possible solutions, metrics and benchmarks for demonstrating how a proposal can meet the relevant Assessment Outcomes in the Territory Plan.
However, Assessment Requirements in the Territory Plan are mandatory. If a proposal departs from a Technical Specification, it must still demonstrate that it satisfies the relevant Assessment Outcome and all applicable mandatory Assessment Requirements
Detailed Explanation
The Planning (Residential Zones) Technical Specifications 2026 (NI2026-303) is a current notifiable instrument made under s 51 of the Planning Act 2023, effective from 1 July 2026.
ACT Planning explains that Technical Specifications support the Territory Plan and provide guidance for aspects of a development proposal, while the relevant requirements and Assessment Outcomes are contained in the Territory Plan itself.
The Territory Plan explanatory material further explains that Technical Specifications may serve as a benchmark when demonstrating compliance with Assessment Outcomes. Where a proposal complies with the relevant specification and comprehensively addresses the outcome, further assessment of that matter may not be required. Conversely, departure from a specification can be considered where the proposal can otherwise demonstrate achievement of the relevant Territory Plan provisions.
Example: If a dual-occupancy design does not achieve a particular metric contained in NI2026-303, that departure is not automatically prohibited merely because the metric is in the Technical Specification. The applicant would need to demonstrate how the alternative design still achieves the corresponding Assessment Outcome. If the same matter is instead prescribed as a mandatory Assessment Requirement in the Territory Plan, that requirement must be met
No minimum block size does not remove the need for planning assessment.
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