Building Information Certificate vs Development Application: What’s the Difference?

If you’ve started looking into approvals, you’ve probably come across two terms that sound similar but do very different jobs: a Building Information Certificate, often shortened to BIC, and a Development Application, or DA. Knowing the difference helps you understand what your project actually needs.

A Development Application is an application that you lodge to your local Council when you want approval to construct something on your site, before any works take place. That might be building a new structure such as a pool or a shed, carrying out an extension or renovation, or in some cases changing how a building or piece of land is used. A DA is about getting the green light before any works commence, or in order to formalise, development.

A Building Information Certificate works differently. It relates to a structure that already exists. Rather than approving new development, a BIC provides a certified position from the council confirming it won’t require the existing structure to be demolished, altered or rebuilt for a period of seven years.

So at a very simple level: a DA is generally about permission to develop, while a BIC is generally about certainty over something that’s already been built.

In practice, working out which pathway suits your situation isn’t always obvious. It depends on the structure, how the property is used, and the specific planning controls that apply. Sometimes one pathway is clearly the right fit. Other times the picture is more nuanced, and choosing well at the start makes a real difference to how smoothly things go.

That’s exactly the kind of assessment we do. If you’re unsure which pathway your project needs, we can look at the specifics and point you in the right direction before you spend money heading down the wrong road.