Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE)
A Statement of Environmental Effects is the mandatory planning report accompanying a Development Application. It identifies the likely impacts of the development, explains how they are mitigated, and addresses each matter council must consider under the Act. A generic SEE invites a request for further information; a specific one is the document that gets an application assessed rather than queried.
Free consultation
- 1–2 weeks from complete drawings
- From $1,850 + GST
- Quoted fixed after a free scope check
What an SEE has to do
Council must consider the matters in section 4.15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act: the relevant planning instruments and controls, the likely impacts of the development, the suitability of the site, any submissions received, and the public interest.
An SEE that walks through those matters directly gives the assessing planner the structure of their own report. That is not a stylistic preference - it is the practical reason well-prepared applications are determined faster.
Where SEEs fail
Generic content. A report that could describe any site describes none.
Avoiding the hard point. If the proposal is 400mm over the height limit, saying nothing about it does not make the assessing planner miss it.
No mitigation. Identifying an overshadowing impact without proposing how the design responds to it invites a condition or a refusal.
For architects and designers
We prepare SEEs as standalone commissions, formatted to drop into your package, with a stated turnaround. Select the referral option on the contact form and it goes to a senior planner rather than into a general enquiry queue.
How it works
Drawing review
2–3 days
We review the set and flag anything that will not survive assessment.
Controls assessment
3–5 days
LEP, DCP and SEPP assessment, with a compliance schedule.
Report preparation
1–2 weeks total
The written planning case, including any variation justification.
What we take off your hands
What EHUP handles
- Assessment against the LEP, DCP and every applicable SEPP
- Section 4.15 matters addressed directly rather than generically
- Amenity impact analysis - overshadowing, privacy, bulk, views
- Variation justification where a control is exceeded
- Turnaround commitments for referring architects and designers
What you don't have to deal with
- A template report that reads as generic and triggers an RFI
- Writing planning argument outside your own discipline
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an SEE for every application?
For a Development Application, yes - it is a mandatory part of the lodgement. Complying development certificates do not require one, because there is no merit assessment to argue.
Who can write an SEE?
There is no statutory restriction, so an owner can write their own. In practice councils read a great many of these, and one that does not engage with the actual controls and impacts is the fastest route to a request for further information. The document is also where a variation is won or lost.
What makes an SEE good?
Specificity. It should cite the actual controls, address the actual impacts on the actual neighbours, and deal with the difficult points rather than avoiding them. Assessing planners respond well to a report that concedes a minor non-compliance and justifies it, and badly to one that pretends it does not exist.
Can you prepare one for a project I have designed?
Yes - that is a large part of this work. We take the drawing set as issued, prepare the SEE around it, and flag early anything that will not survive assessment as drawn. Turnaround is one to two weeks from a complete set.
Related services
Development Application (DA)
A Development Application is the merit-assessed approval pathway.
Clause 4.6 Variation
Where a proposal exceeds a development standard in the LEP - most commonly building height or floor space ratio - a Clause 4.6 variation request is the mechanism that allows consent to be granted anyway.
Planning Reports
A Development Application is only as strong as the planning argument attached to it.
Why clients choose EHUP
- 10+
- 250+
- 14
- 1
Not sure which approval you need?
Tell us the address and what you want to do. We'll help identify the appropriate planning pathway, whether it is exempt development, complying development or a full DA. Your first conversation is free.