Reference Data · New South Wales
Ballina Shire DCP: the dwelling controls, as published.
7 controls for low-density residential — dwelling houses, taken from Ballina Shire Development Control Plan 2012 — Chapter 4: Residential and Tourist Development, §3.1 Dwelling Houses and Dual Occupancies. As at 2026-08-05.
NSW has no statewide dwelling setback or site-coverage standard. The LEP sets zone, height and FSR; the numbers that shape a build sit in each council's DCP. Below are the 7 controls Ballina Shire publishes numerically. Anything its DCP assesses on merit rather than a fixed number is simply absent from this table — it is not a zero, and it is not a permission.
Ballina Shire — published dwelling controls
| Control | Published value | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|
| Front setback | 4.5 m | Per the Building Line Map. Where a site is not mapped, the front building line is the GREATER of 4.5m or the average of the setbacks of dwellings on immediately adjoining lots (§3.1.3.2 i–ii). Garages/carports must be setback a minimum of 5.5m from the front boundary (iii). |
| Secondary street setback | 3 m | — |
| Side setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Minimum boundary setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Rear setback | 0.9 m | — |
| Landscaped area | 20% ≤600 m² → 30% | — |
| Private open space | 24 m² | — |
Source: Ballina Shire Development Control Plan 2012 — Chapter 4: Residential and Tourist Development, §3.1 Dwelling Houses and Dual Occupancies. Clauses: 3.1.3.2 (Setbacks) i–viii; 3.1.3.3 (Landscaping and Open Space) i–ii; Table 4.2 Landscaping Controls. Open the source DCP.
Qualifications that change how these read
- Controls apply to Zones R2 AND R3 under a single control set (Ch4 §3.1). R2 is the low-density case.
- Front setback is map-dependent (Building Line Map). The 4.5m recorded is the default MINIMUM that applies only where a site is not mapped, and is itself a 'greater of 4.5m or average of adjoining lots' prevailing-line rule (§3.1.3.2 i–ii).
- Garages/carports: minimum 5.5m front setback (§3.1.3.2 iii); on corner lots, garages/carports accessed from the secondary road also 5.5m (iv).
- Recorded side_setback_m and rear_setback_m of 0.9m are the ground-floor wall minimum (single-storey or ground floor of a two-storey dwelling, §3.1.3.2 v). Upper-storey walls more than 4.5m above ground must be setback 2.5m on western/southern elevations and 1.5m on northern/eastern elevations (orientation-dependent, §3.1.3.2 vi) — not captured in the numeric side field.
- ADDITIONAL rear requirement (§3.1.3.2 viii): dwellings must be setback a minimum of 4.0m from the rear boundary for at least 30% of the lot width (this 4.0m band may be shifted to a side boundary for better solar access). The recorded rear_setback_m=0.9 is the general wall minimum; the 4.0m applies to only 30% of lot width.
- secondary_street_setback_m=3.0 is the corner-lot dwelling setback to the secondary road boundary (§3.1.3.2 iv).
- No site coverage percentage is specified for dwelling houses in Ch4; only a landscaped-area minimum (Table 4.2).
- Landscaped tiers are monotonic increasing (20% <600m², 30% ≥600m²), consistent with expected pattern. Landscaped area defined as soft/pervious (grass, plants, trees; excludes buildings, structures, hard paved areas) but not explicitly termed 'deep soil'.
- Private open space: 24m² min contiguous, 4m min dimension, predominantly flat (max gradient 1:10); no small-site reduced minimum stated for dwelling houses.
- Version fetched: BSDCP 2012 Chapter 4 amendment dated 10/12/2025 (endorsed Nov 2025, effective 22 Dec 2025) — the current DCP chapter.
How this was compiled, and how far to trust it
These values were extracted from the source DCP and then independently checked against it — one of 28 of 86 councils on this site verified that way. This is a different and lower tier of confidence than our Victorian zone schedules, which are read and verified from the source planning scheme by a person. We do not present the two as equivalent.
A council's DCP can be amended at any time and this page reflects the document as at 2026-08-05. Where a control is absent above, the DCP either sets no number or assesses that parameter on merit.
This information is provided for research and preliminary screening only. It does not constitute professional planning, legal or architectural advice. Always verify with Ballina Shire before making decisions.
Check a specific address in Ballina Shire
These are the council-wide numbers. Zone, overlays and the consent triggers that actually apply depend on the parcel — screen one free, no signup.
Screen an address →Compare across the state: every codified NSW council DCP in one table · all reference data