Win more jobs with instant DA checks
Run AI-powered council approval assessments for your customers in minutes. Enter their address, answer a few questions, and hand them a professional lodgement pack — approval pathway, draft SEE, and action plan included.
Try a free assessment — no credit card required.
Trusted by leading trade businesses across NSW
The Problem
Council approvals are costing you jobs
Your customers expect you to know whether they need council approval. Right now, figuring that out is slow, manual, and eats into your margins.
Hours wasted on every quote
You're spending unpaid time researching council requirements, calling duty planners, and hand-holding customers through approvals — time you should be spending on the tools.
Rules buried across dozens of docs
Zoning, overlays, DCPs, SEPPs — the planning rules your customers need are spread across documents nobody reads. Getting it wrong means costly delays.
Councils are slow and vague
Long hold times, generic advice, and contradictory answers from duty planners. Your customer's job stalls while you wait for clarity.
Customers go to the other bloke
When a customer asks 'do I need council approval?' and you can't give a clear answer on the spot, they go to the tradie who can.
Wrong advice kills your margins
Incorrect assumptions lead to RFIs, refusals, and re-submissions. One wrong call on approvals can blow out a project timeline by months.
Planners cost $2k–$5k per job
Referring every customer to a town planner for a basic feasibility check is overkill — and your customer shouldn't have to cop that cost upfront.
From enquiry to lodgement pack in under 2 minutes
No jargon. No hour-long council calls. Run a professional assessment on behalf of your customer — powered by real NSW planning data.
Enter the address & mark the project
Type your customer's property address and we instantly pull their satellite view, zoning, council, and any overlays — heritage, bushfire, flood — direct from NSW government data. See the roof from above and draw exactly where the work goes. We calculate the area automatically.
Answer a few plain-English questions
Simple questions about the project — no planning codes, no jargon. Most answers are already auto-filled from the data we detected. Our AI then evaluates the project against real NSW planning rules and tells you if it's Exempt, CDC, or full DA.
Hand your customer a professional report
Your customer gets a branded lodgement pack — the approval pathway with a confidence score, a draft Statement of Environmental Effects, document checklist with costs, and a step-by-step action plan. Your logo, your credibility.
Powerful features for tradies
Instant DA assessment
Location-aware insights
Professional branded reports
Supported Projects
Every job type your customers ask about
From a simple fence to a full new build — run instant approval assessments for every common residential project your customers bring to you.
Deck
Timber or composite decks, raised platforms, and outdoor entertaining areas.
Verandah
Covered outdoor areas attached to the main dwelling, often with roof and posts.
Pool
In-ground and above-ground pools and associated fencing requirements.
Spa
Spas, hot tubs, and associated fencing requirements.
Granny Flat
Secondary dwellings, ancillary structures, and self-contained living spaces under 60m².
Pergola
Attached and freestanding pergolas, shade structures, and covered outdoor areas.
Patio
Paved or covered outdoor living areas at ground level.
Carport
Single and double carports, covered parking structures, and shade sails.
Garage
Enclosed or semi-enclosed garages and covered parking.
Fence
Front and side fences, and boundary structures of all heights.
Retaining Wall
Retaining walls and structural earth support.
Shed
Detached sheds, garden sheds, and other outbuildings for storage.
Studio
Home offices, art studios, workshops, and other habitable outbuildings.
Renovation
Kitchen and bathroom renovations, wall removal, and internal layout changes.
Extension
Single or double storey additions, room extensions, and ground-floor enlargements.
New Build
New single dwellings, knockdown rebuilds, and dual occupancy developments.
What Your Customers Get
A lodgement pack, not just an answer
Most tradies say “you'll probably need a DA.” You give them a branded report with everything they need to actually lodge one — draft statement, checklist, action plan, the lot.
42 Harbour St, Manly NSW 2095
Pool — Full DA Required
Includes
- Draft SEE
- Doc Checklist
- Action Plan
- Risk Flags
Pathway Assessment
Exempt, CDC, or DA — with a confidence score and detailed explanation referencing actual NSW planning rules for the property.
Draft Statement of Environmental Effects
A pre-filled draft SEE or Statement of Compliance your customer can use as a starting point for their lodgement — not just generic next steps.
Document Checklist
Every document needed for lodgement, with estimated costs, where to get each one, and whether it's mandatory or recommended.
Action Plan with Contacts
Step-by-step plan with who to contact, how to find them, links to government portals, and practical tips for each step.
Verified Planning Data
Actual zoning, LEP, council area, and any heritage, bushfire, or flood overlays — pulled directly from NSW government databases.
Risk Flags
Know where the council is strict — boundary setbacks, heritage areas, tree preservation orders, and other gotchas specific to the site.
Sample Action Plan Step
Engage a Draftsperson or Architect
Week 1-2$1,500-$3,000
Our customers get a professional report on council approval in minutes — and they love it.
We've always walked our customers through the council approval side of things, but ApprovalPath lets us hand them a proper report on the spot. They feel looked after from the first conversation, and that trust means they come back and send their mates our way too.
Chris Miller
Owner of Sydney Metro Decking
Built for Tradies
The unfair advantage your competitors don't have
ApprovalPath gives you the tools to answer council approval questions instantly, look more professional, and close more jobs — all for less than the cost of a single planner consultation.
Save hours per quote
Stop spending unpaid time researching council rules. Enter the address, draw the project, and have the answer in 2 minutes flat.
Close more jobs
When a customer asks 'do I need approval?', you answer on the spot with a professional report. That confidence wins work.
Lodgement-ready reports
Give customers a draft SEE, document checklist, and step-by-step action plan — not just a vague 'you'll probably need a DA'.
Branded to your business
PDF reports carry your logo and business name. Your customers see you as the professional who sorted it for them.
Share reports with a link
Send your customer a shareable link to their report. No PDFs lost in email threads — they can access it anytime.
Save your customers thousands
No more referring every customer to a $3k town planner for a simple feasibility check. You give them the answer and the action plan.
2 min
Average assessment time
$3k+
Saved per customer vs. a planner
500+
Tradies already using ApprovalPath
4.9/5
Average rating
Pricing
Less than a single planner consultation
Simple monthly plans. No lock-in contracts. Cancel anytime. Every plan pays for itself after a single job.
For solo tradies
Starter
Everything you need to start running council approval assessments for your customers.
- 5 full reports per month
- Auto-detected zoning, heritage, bushfire & flood
- Interactive satellite map with drawing tools
- Exempt / CDC / DA pathway with confidence score
- Full lodgement preparation report
- Draft Statement of Environmental Effects
- Document checklist with costs & links
- Step-by-step action plan with contacts
- Shareable report links
Most popular
Pro
For tradies who quote regularly and want to stand out from the competition.
- 15 full reports per month
- Everything in Starter
- Branded PDF exports with your logo
- Customer dashboard & report history
- Priority support
- Print-ready PDF reports
- Cancel anytime
For teams & builders
Business
Unlimited assessments for busy builders and growing teams.
- Unlimited reports
- Everything in Pro
- Team member access
- Bulk report generation
- API access (coming soon)
- Dedicated account manager
- Custom branding & white-label
All plans include GST. Need a custom plan for your team? Talk to us.
FAQ
Got questions? We've got answers.
You enter your customer's property address, draw where the project will go on the satellite map, and answer a few plain-English questions. Our AI evaluates the project against NSW planning rules and generates a professional lodgement preparation report — including the approval pathway, a draft Statement of Environmental Effects, document checklist, and step-by-step action plan. The whole process takes under 2 minutes.
No. ApprovalPath provides planning guidance based on publicly available NSW planning rules and real government spatial data. It is not a substitute for formal legal or planning advice. We always recommend confirming with your local council's duty planner or a qualified private certifier before lodging any application.
We pull the actual zoning, heritage, bushfire, and flood data directly from NSW Government spatial databases — the same data councils see. Our AI then evaluates the project against current NSW planning policies. Each report includes a confidence score so you and your customer can gauge reliability. For complex or borderline cases, we'll recommend getting professional advice.
Yes! Pro and Business plans include branded PDF exports. Upload your logo and business name, and your reports will look professional and client-ready — perfect for quoting and customer presentations. It's a great way to stand out from competitors.
Every report gets a unique shareable link you can send to your customer via text, email, or however you normally communicate. They can view the full report online without needing an account. You can also download a branded PDF to attach to quotes or emails.
The lodgement preparation report includes: a draft Statement of Environmental Effects (for DAs) or Statement of Compliance (for CDCs) pre-filled with project details; a complete document checklist showing what each document costs and where to get it; a step-by-step action plan with who to contact, how to find them, useful links, and practical tips; key planning controls for the zone; and a risk assessment.
We cover all NSW local government areas. Our system detects the council, zoning, and overlays (heritage, bushfire, flood) based on the address entered, using the official NSW Government spatial databases.
Yes — the Business plan includes team member access. Add your team and they can run assessments under your account, using your branding. All reports are tracked in your dashboard so you can see every assessment across your business.
ChatGPT gives generic answers that aren't address-specific. ApprovalPath pulls actual zoning and overlays from NSW Government databases, lets you draw on the property to mark the project location, and generates a structured lodgement pack with a draft SEE, document checklist, and action plan. It's a specialised tool built for tradies, not a general chatbot.
Absolutely. There are no lock-in contracts. You can cancel your subscription anytime from your dashboard. You'll retain access until the end of your billing period.
Give your customers clarity. Win more work.
Stop losing time on council approvals. Start handing customers professional lodgement packs that set you apart from every other tradie.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.