What is BASIX and how does it affect my development in NSW?

BASIX (Building Sustainability Index) is a NSW Government tool that sets sustainability targets for residential development, covering water efficiency, thermal comfort and energy use. Most residential DAs require a BASIX certificate. Sky Planning works with your design team to ensure your project meets BASIX requirements efficiently.

When should sustainability be considered in a development project?

Ideally from the earliest concept stage. Sustainability requirements embedded into design from day one produce better outcomes and fewer compliance problems later. Sky Planning engages at feasibility and concept stage to ensure sustainability thinking shapes the project rather than being retrofitted at the end.

What sustainability planning services does Sky Planning provide?

Sky Planning provides strategic sustainability advisory for development projects, including review of BASIX and NatHERS requirements, interpretation of sustainability policy in LEPs and DCPs, integrated design framework development, and strategic positioning for innovative sustainability approaches with councils and government agencies.

Sustainable Development Advisory

Sustainability isn't a box to tick. It's a position to argue — and we help you argue it well.

The NSW planning framework is moving quickly on sustainability. Requirements that were aspirational a few years ago are now embedded in policy, and the expectations on developers and design teams are rising. The difference between projects that navigate this well and those that don't usually comes down to how early the sustainability conversation started — and how strategically it was framed.

We work at the intersection of planning policy and environmental performance. Not as compliance managers, but as strategic advisors who understand how sustainability objectives translate into planning outcomes — and how to use that to your advantage.

Where we add real value

We engage early — at feasibility and concept stage — where the decisions that shape sustainability performance are actually being made. We work directly alongside architects, engineers and project teams to ensure the planning advice is integrated, not bolted on.

Reviewing LEPs, SEPPs and DCP controls to identify sustainability requirements and opportunities
Translating policy objectives into measurable, designable outcomes — BASIX, NatHERS, DTS and performance solutions
Strategic positioning to secure early government and council support for innovative sustainability approaches
Working with project teams to develop integrated design frameworks that embed sustainability from the first sketch
Interpreting policy nuance to find pathways that are ambitious, achievable and defensible
Supporting the planning narrative with evidence-based sustainability arguments that stand up to scrutiny

Documents & assessments we prepare

Sustainability projects require specific technical and planning documents. Here's what we routinely prepare and coordinate:

Review of Environmental Factors (REF) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Sustainability Statement Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) Integrated Design Framework

The policy is dense. The opportunity is real.

Sustainability policy in NSW contains both constraint and significant opportunity — for projects that know how to read it. The right approach to BASIX isn't just meeting the number; it's understanding how material choices, orientation and site configuration interact with the planning framework to create better design and stronger applications.

We've helped clients find genuinely clever solutions — approaches that satisfy policy requirements while actually improving project performance. That's what strategic advice looks like, as opposed to standard compliance guidance.

Values as well as obligations

Many of our clients come to us not just because policy requires it, but because they genuinely care about building sustainably. We share that commitment. We don't treat sustainability as an external imposition — we treat it as a lens through which better projects are made. If that's how you're approaching your project, we'll be a natural fit.

Let's talk about what's possible for your project

Whether you're driven by policy requirements, market positioning, investor expectations or your own values — or some combination of all of them — we'd welcome the conversation. Sustainability advisory works best when it starts early. Let's start early.