A Complying Development Certificate may be issued for works including earthworks, retaining walls, drainage, protection of walls and protection of trees for land zoned R1, R2, R3, R4 or RU5 if the proposal meets all the relevant development standards.
A Complying Development Certificate can be issued by Council or a Private Certifier and the application for a Complying Development Certificate must be submitted via the NSW Planning Portal.
You can use the State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) to check whether your proposal is complying development. The individual clause should be read in conjunction with all of Part 3.
If your proposal does not meet all of the standards you must lodge a Development Application.