Temporary uses and structures

Tents, marquees and booths for community events

Please refer to these provisions of the State Policy for a list of development standards relating to tents, marquees or booths for community events as complying development.

The State Policy also identifies specific development standards relating to:

• stages or platforms for community events
• major events at Sydney Olympic Park.

Other considerations

• All works must be structurally adequate, installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and comply with the Building Code of Australia (BCA).
• If you propose to remove or prune any existing trees or vegetation, you should contact your council first to make sure you don’t need approval for this.
• Any structures that would be located on public land or on or over a public road (including temporary structures) require separate approval from the relevant council or Roads and Maritime Services under the Roads Act 1993 and the Local Government Act 1993.
• Generally, complying development cannot be carried out on:
  • land within a heritage conservation area, or a draft heritage conservation area (there are some exceptions, please check the relevant development standards for more information)
  • land reserved for a public purpose
  • class 1 or 2 land on council’s acid sulphate soils map
  • land in a buffer area
  • land in a riverfront area
  • land in an ecologically sensitive area
  • environmentally sensitive land
  • land in a protected area
  • land affected by a coastline hazard, coastal hazard or coastal erosion hazard
  • land in a foreshore area
  • land in the 25 Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) counter or a higher ANEF counter
  • unsewered land in a drinking water catchment identified in an environmental planning instrument
  • land declared as a special area
  • land in an environmentally sensitive area.
• In addition, complying development cannot be carried out on land that:
  • comprises an item that is listed in the State Heritage Register (unless an exemption under section 57 of the Heritage Act 1977 has been granted)
  • is subject to an interim heritage order (unless an exemption under section 57 of the Heritage Act 1977 has been granted)
  • is identified as an item of environmental heritage or a heritage item in an environmental planning instrument (unless an exemption under section 57 of the Heritage Act 1977 has been granted)
  • Is a critical habitat under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995
  • Is a wilderness area under the Wilderness Act 1987.