How to view and filter planning permit information

Planning permit information is notoriously challenging to access, as each local council has its own way of sharing and displaying this information. Landchecker brings all this permit information into one place, making it significantly faster and easier to access. Planning permit information (also called development applications or DAs) can be challenging to access because each local council has its own system for sharing this data.

What Planning Permit Information Shows

Planning permit data shows approved, pending, and rejected applications for property developments. This includes information about residential extensions, subdivisions, multi-level developments, and other building projects that require council approval.

Real estate agents use permit information to identify listing opportunities. Architects and town planners use the filters to find planning precedents that support their applications.

Turn on the Planning Permit Layer

To view planning permits on the map:

Enter a property address in the search bar, or click on a property on the map

Click the clipboard icon in the layers menu on the left side of your screen

Select Planning Permits to activate the layer

Once activated, properties with recent permits appear highlighted on the map using a traffic light colour system:

Green indicates approved permits

Orange indicates pending permits

Red indicates rejected permits

View Permit Details for a Property

To see permit information for a specific property, hover your cursor over any highlighted property on the map. A pop-up displays details about the most recent permit, including:

Application description

Application date

Outcome status

Council reference number

If a property has multiple permits in its history, you will see a View More link to access older applications.

Filter Permits by Status

You can filter which types of permits appear on the map based on their approval status:

Open the Planning Permits/DAs side panel

Click Filter to expand the filtering options

Select or deselect the status options:

Approved (green)

Pending (orange)

Rejected (red)

For example, if you only want to see approved permits, deselect the Pending and Rejected options. The map will update to show only properties with approved applications.

Filter Permits by Planning Appeals

In Victoria, you can filter permits by whether they have been appealed at VCAT:

In the Planning Permits/DAs side panel, click Filter

Under Planning Appeal, select one of the following chips:

Any: shows all permits, whether appealed or not

Appealed: shows only permits that have been through a VCAT appeal

Not Appealed: shows only permits with no VCAT appeal history

Only one option can be selected at a time. This filter is available to Advanced and Enterprise plan members.

Filter Permits by Permit Type

Some developments are assessed outside the standard local council process. You can filter to these permit types where relevant to your state:

In the Planning Permits/DAs side panel, click Filter

Under Permit Type, select from:

Ministerial Applications (VIC)

Priority Development Applications (QLD)

State Significant Development (NSW)

This is useful for tracking major projects assessed directly by state planning ministers or authorities rather than local councils.

Filtering by permit type is available to Advanced and Enterprise plan members.

Filter Permits by Date

You can narrow your search to permits within specific timeframes:

In the Planning Permits/DAs side panel, click Filter

Use the date fields to filter by:

Date Received: When the permit application was submitted to council

Outcome Date: When the council made a decision on the application

Enter start and end dates for your search period

This is useful when you want to see recent permit activity or compare approval patterns over time.

Filter Permits by Keyword

To find specific types of developments, you can filter permits using keywords:

In the Planning Permits/DAs side panel, click Filter

Enter a keyword in the search field, such as:

"subdivision" to find lot subdivision applications

"townhouse" to find townhouse developments

"extension" to find building extensions

"multi-level" to find multi-storey developments

The map will update to show only permits that include your keyword in the application description. If you enter multiple keywords, Landchecker will only show permits that include all of the keywords you specified.

Filter Permits by Category

To narrow results to specific types of development, filter by category:

In the Planning Permits/DAs side panel, click Filter

Under Category, select one or more of the following:

Alterations

Change of Use

Consolidation

Demolition

Extension/Addition

Liquor Licence

New Building - Non Residential

New Dwelling

Other

Signage/Advertising

Site Works

Subdivision

Telecommunications

Vegetation Removal

Waiving of Parking Requirement

The map will update to show only permits that match your selected categories.