Do utility services need to be shown on the DA plans?
For a dual occupancy, the plans should give the planner enough information to understand where the existing services are and whether the new dwellings will interfere with them.
This can include things such as sewer, stormwater, water, electricity and other existing/proposed utility infrastructure, particularly where they affect where you can put the dwellings, driveway, retaining walls or landscaping.
You don't necessarily need a separate complicated engineering utilities drawing for every DA. The utility information can sometimes be incorporated into the relevant plans. ACT's DA naming guidance specifically says that a Utilities Services Plan details existing and proposed utility services.
The important practical issue is clearances. For example, if a sewer line or utility easement runs through the block, you can't simply draw a dwelling over it because the building otherwise meets the planning setbacks. Utility access and protection requirements still need to be dealt with. ACT Planning expressly recognises easements, utility infrastructure access/protection spaces and plumbing/drainage clearances as separate constraints.
So for a dual occupancy DA, I would normally want the site documentation to identify any utility infrastructure that could affect the proposed development, rather than leaving it until building approval.
Reference: Planning (Minimum Development Application Documentation) Guideline 2026 (No 1) (NI2026–13)
Short Answer
Yes, utility services should generally be identified on the DA documentation where they are relevant to the proposal. However, for a typical ACT dual occupancy, a separate detailed Utilities Services Plan is not automatically mandatory in every case. The ACT Minimum DA Documentation Guideline marks some documentation as required only “if relevant or requested.”
Detailed Explanation
The Minimum DA Documentation Guideline identifies a Utilities Services Plan as a recognised DA document and distinguishes between documents that are mandatory and those required where relevant or requested, depending on the development type.
ACT Planning defines a Utilities Services Plan as a plan detailing existing and proposed utility services.
For residential development, services and utilities also form part of the Territory Plan assessment framework. Importantly, compliance with the Planning (Residential Zones) Technical Specifications 2026 (NI2026-303) does not override separate utility requirements. Utility easements, asset protection/access requirements and plumbing/drainage clearances can independently constrain the development.
Practical DA position: For a dual occupancy, show relevant existing and proposed services where they affect the design. A separate detailed Utilities Services Plan may only be necessary where relevant or specifically requested, but omitting significant services that constrain the development could result in further-information requests or design changes later.
No minimum block size does not remove the need for planning assessment.
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