FAQs

Local planning policies (LPPs) are guidelines used to assist the City in making decisions under the local planning scheme. They can relate to several different urban planning matters within the City, including procedures, land use, and design guidelines.

The City reviews its Local Planning Policies (LPPs) on an ongoing basis to ensure it has a planning framework that is contemporary, consistent with State planning frameworks, reflects the community’s aspirations on planning-related matters, and supports the implementation of Local Planning Scheme No. 7 (LPS 7). 

In October 2025, the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) released new a draft WA Planning Manual for Local Planning Policies. This document provides guidance the preparation, implementation, review, amendment and revocation of LPPs, aiming to improve consistency, transparency, legibility and ensure local planning policies remain up to date and fit for purpose. In response the City is reviewing its LPP suite using this Manual as a guide.

The City of South Perth is seeking feedback on draft amended Local Planning Policy 3.1 – Waste Management (LPP 3.1). The amendments proposed to the policy are discussed as follows:

1. Waste chutes and movement of waste: LPP 3.1 has been updated to include provisions relating to waste chutes and the movement of waste within a development, with a new section specifically addressing waste chutes proposed, including specifications for when they are required, minimum design requirements, and general expectations. New provisions have been added to the Objectives and Bin Store Areas sections to provide greater guidance on the movement of waste to and from bin store areas, aiming to minimise the interaction between the movement of waste and resident circulation areas.

2. Updates to technical information: LPP 3.1 has been revised to include updated technical specifications and current procedures of the City’s waste systems. 

3. Waste compactors: New waste compactor requirements for developments containing a minimum of 250 residential units, which aims to improve operational efficiency and ensure alignment with best practice.

No, the draft LPP 3.1 – Waste Management will not apply retrospectively and will only apply to new development applications. 

The draft LPP - Waste Management proposes amendments to requirements relating to bin chutes, bin store areas and waste compactors in new developments and is mostly relevant to apartment blocks and multiple unit development proposals.

The City of South Perth is seeking feedback on draft amended Local Planning Policy 6.1 – Advertising of Planning Proposals. The amendments proposed to the policy are discussed as follows:

1. Application and objectives: Sections 3.0 Application and 4.0 Objectives have been revised to align with best practice and the contemporary State planning framework. The new objectives assist the decision-maker to assess the merits of a proposal and determine the extent of advertising necessary.

2. Table 1: Table 1 has been amended to enable greater flexibility, incorporate additional contemporary consultation practices (such as a social media post), and remove unnecessary repetition from other legislation. 

3. Submissions: Section 5.4 Submissions has been expanded to provide greater transparency, particularly on how submissions are considered by the City, that they may be provided to the applicant, and what constitutes a valid submission.

4. Other: Other changes include new definitions, removal of consultation diagrams to improve flexibility and reduce misinterpretation, as well as general updates to reflect alignment with the Regulations, the Residential Design Codes, and best practice.

The City of South Perth is seeking feedback on draft amended Local Planning Policy 6.2 – Design Review Panel.

In June 2025 Department of Planning, Lands, and Heritage released a new Local Government Design Review Manual to provide practical, best-practice guidance for Local Government Design Review Panels. This, combined with contemporary best practice, have informed the proposed changes.

The amendments proposed to the policy are discussed as follows:

The Policy is proposed to be divided into three new forms, a local planning policy, a separate terms of reference, and the remainder of the information provided on the City’s website. By separating the information into three distinct sections, the information can be tailored to the intended audience and appropriate regulatory framework. 

1. Local Planning Policy: The policy has been updated and reduced in scope, containing only the key requirements and regulatory information appropriate to a local planning policy. The key topics included in the policy are; the application of the Design Review Panel (DRP) (i.e. when a proposal will be referred to DRP), Sole Member Design Review (Section 5.2), and principles of review (Section 5.3).

2. Terms of Reference (ToR): The ToR contains information and regulation relating to the hiring, operation and processes of the DRP, and is primarily relevant to City officers and DRP members.

3. Webpage: Much of the existing non-statutory information will be moved to and expanded upon within an updated webpage. This will guide the public and applicants to better understand and follow the DRP process, including an extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and a DRP guide.

The City of South Perth is seeking feedback on draft amended Local Planning Policy 7.1 – Signage and Advertisement.

As part of the City’s 2026 general local planning policy review, the City undertook a detailed review of LPP 7.1, which included an evaluation of development applications the City has received for signs in the past two years. It was noted that LPP 7.1 was generally more restrictive compared to other similar local governments, often requiring development approval for minor or insignificant proposals. Based upon these findings, the City has sought to restructure LPP 7.1 with the aim of reducing burden on businesses and improving administration effectiveness. Furthermore, LPP 7.1 has also been updated in line with the contemporary planning framework and best practice.

The amendments proposed to the policy are discussed as follows:

1. Policy operation: The policy is proposed to be restructured to permit all sign types to be exempt from development approval where specific location and design requirements are met. 

2. Alignment best practice: Several changes are proposed in line with the contemporary planning framework and best practice. This primarily involves refining and reorganising the Introduction, Application and Objectives sectioins to improve clarity and functionality. 

3.Updates to general provisions and tables: The general provisions found in Section 5, and sign type specific requirements found in Tables 1 – 3, have been refined to reduce ambiguity in interpretation, ensuring each sign type is clear and distinct. 

The consultation requirements for LPPs are set out in the Planning and Development Act (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 ( External link, 1.5 MB, pdf) and the City's Local Planning Policy - Advertising of Planning Proposals. New LPPs and major amendments to existing LPPs are required to be advertised for a minimum of 21 days. Consultation is not required for minor amendments to LPPs or LPPs that are revoked by Council.

The City’s LPPs are available via the document library section above or online on the City’s website (External link).

• Ask us a question online and we’ll either answer you on the project page or email you directly.
• Call the Strategic Planning Team on 9474 0777 or make a request on the City's website (External link).
• Make an appointment with a Strategic Planner.

Your feedback will be carefully considered as part of the process to finalise draft LPPs before they are presented to Council for consideration and adoption.

Please ensure you include your name and address as submissions without this information cannot be considered. Your personal details are only used by the City to interpret the feedback we receive. For transparency, your feedback and address may be published as part of reporting.

If you make a submission, we will let you know when the policy will be considered by Council. You can also sign up to receive email updates about the progress of the review.