Reference Data · New South Wales
Canterbury-Bankstown DCP: the dwelling controls, as published.
6 controls for low-density residential — dwelling houses, taken from Canterbury-Bankstown Development Control Plan 2023 — Chapter 5.2 Residential Accommodation (Former Canterbury LGA), Section 2 Dwelling houses and outbuildings (June 2023, Amended March 2026 / Amendment 11). Official short link: cb.city/DCP5-2. 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 6 controls Canterbury-Bankstown 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.
Canterbury-Bankstown — published dwelling controls
| Control | Published value | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|
| Front setback | 6 m | Ch.5.2 Table 4 (lot frontage ≥12.5m — the standard case given the 15m minimum-frontage requirement, cl.2.1 C1): 6m OR the average of the existing setback of the nearest dwelling house to either side of the site. Narrower lots (frontage ≤12.5m, Table 3): 5.5m. Sites fronting a major road: 9m (cl.2.6 C1). |
| Secondary street setback | 2 m | — |
| Side setback | 1 m | — |
| Rear setback | 6 m | — |
| Site coverage | 60% ≤450 m² → 50% ≤600 m² → 40% ≤900 m² → 40% | — |
| Landscaped area | 15% ≤450 m² → 20% ≤600 m² → 25% | deep-soil requirement applies |
Source: Canterbury-Bankstown Development Control Plan 2023 — Chapter 5.2 Residential Accommodation (Former Canterbury LGA), Section 2 Dwelling houses and outbuildings (June 2023, Amended March 2026 / Amendment 11). Official short link: cb.city/DCP5-2. Clauses: Ch.5.2 Section 2 — cl.2.1 C1 (min frontage), cl.2.2 C1 & Table 1 (site coverage), cl.2.3 C1–C2 & Table 2 (deep-soil landscaping), cl.2.6 C1–C2 & Tables 3–4 (front/side/rear setbacks). Former Bankstown split documented from Ch.5.1 Section 2 cl.2.6–2.10, 2.29 (cb.city/DCP5-1).. Open the source DCP.
Qualifications that change how these read
- Canterbury-Bankstown DCP 2023 splits Residential Accommodation into TWO chapters by former LGA, with DIFFERENT numeric controls: Chapter 5.1 (Former Bankstown LGA) and Chapter 5.2 (Former Canterbury LGA). A site's controls depend on which former-LGA area it falls in. This record codifies Chapter 5.2 (Former Canterbury LGA) because it has the fuller, tier-based numeric set (site coverage table + deep-soil table + full setbacks incl. rear).
- FORMER BANKSTOWN (Chapter 5.1, Section 2) alternative controls: front setback 5.5m (ground floor) / 6.5m (second storey); secondary street 3m (building wall), 5.5m (attached garage/carport); side 0.9m for wall height ≤7m and 1.5m for wall height >7m; private open space min 80m² behind the front building line (each area min 5m wide); front-yard landscaping min 45% of the area between the dwelling and the primary street frontage AND 45% of the secondary-street-frontage area, plus at least one 75L tree; storey limit 2. Chapter 5.1 has NO site coverage table and NO rear setback control for dwelling houses.
- Chapter 5.2 setbacks vary by lot frontage: Table 3 (frontage ≤12.5m) = front 5.5m, side 0.9m, rear 6m; Table 4 (frontage ≥12.5m) = front 6m or average of neighbours, side 1m, corner secondary 2m, rear 6m. Codified front (6), side (1) and secondary-street (2) values use Table 4, the standard case given the 15m minimum-frontage requirement (cl.2.1 C1); rear (6m) is flat across both tables. Front setback is 9m where the site fronts a major road (cl.2.6 C1).
- Chapter 5.2 site coverage figure used = the 'Maximum site coverage of all structures on a site' column of Table 1 (60/50/40/40%). Table 1 also caps building footprint (300/330/380/430m²) and outbuilding floor area (30/45/60/60m²).
- Chapter 5.2 landscaped_tiers are the Table 2 minimum DEEP-SOIL permeable areas (15/20/25% of site area); deep soil must have a minimum dimension of 2.5m (cl.2.3 C2).
- No numeric private open space minimum is stated for dwelling houses in Chapter 5.2 Section 2 (pos_min_sqm=null); POS there is governed by solar-access percentages only. The 40m²/50m² POS figures found in the same PDF belong to Section 3 (dual occupancies), not dwelling houses.
- Chapter 5.2 building envelope (cl.2.5): max 2 storeys; max external wall height 7m where LEP max building height is 8.5m, or 8m where LEP height is 9.5m; finished ground floor ≤1m above natural ground level.
- Both chapters are the current versions: 'June 2023 (Amended March 2026)' — Amendment 11, dated 2026-03-12. Source PDFs fetched via the council's official short links cb.city/DCP5-2 (codified) and cb.city/DCP5-1 (Former Bankstown), which redirect to webdocs.bankstown.nsw.gov.au. Low-density R2 zone; controls also apply to dwelling houses in other residential zones per the LEP.
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 Canterbury-Bankstown before making decisions.
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