What people actually build

Every one of 423,148 development applications lodged in NSW since 2019, broken down by type of work — 274 distinct kinds, from a new dwelling to a farm shed. Each row is what that work typically costs and how many homes it delivers. Sort any column.

Type of workApplications ▾Median costNew dwellingsBusiest councils
Pub
most recent 21 Aug 2026
1,308 $665,945
777 costed
1,670 Council of the City of Sydney 336 · Inner West Council 93 · Newcastle 37
Manufactured home
most recent 20 Aug 2026
1,295 $350,000
1,257 costed
8,878 Central Coast Council 44 · Snowy Monaro Regional Council 44 · Lake Macquarie 36
Recreational Uses
most recent 20 Dec 2024
1,282 $186,750
1,010 costed
609 Council of the City of Sydney 85 · Sutherland 74 · The Hills 37
Stormwater management systems
most recent 6 Nov 2024
1,214 $600,000
1,066 costed
7,186 Shoalhaven 66 · Northern Beaches Council 53 · Canterbury-Bankstown Council 49
Recreation facility (indoor)
most recent 21 Aug 2026
1,213 $132,000
959 costed
1,952 Council of the City of Sydney 105 · Northern Beaches Council 54 · The Hills 41
Landscaping structures
most recent 21 Aug 2026
1,135 $170,000
1,075 costed
1,504 Northern Beaches Council 85 · Inner West Council 61 · Lake Macquarie 57
Boarding house
most recent 20 Aug 2026
1,049 $1,949,090
861 costed
29,350 Inner West Council 134 · Council of the City of Sydney 101 · Cumberland Council 70
Rainwater tanks
most recent 21 Aug 2026
1,043 $576,774
1,027 costed
966 Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council 67 · Yass Valley Council 38 · Goulburn Mulwaree Council 36
Cabanas, cubby houses, ferneries, garden sheds, gazebos and greenhouses
most recent 20 Aug 2026
1,036 $156,000
1,005 costed
345 Northern Beaches Council 59 · Lake Macquarie 52 · Central Coast Council 48
Office premises
most recent 1 Dec 2025
977 $660,000
831 costed
6,988 Council of the City of Sydney 261 · City of Parramatta Council 37 · North Sydney Council 32
Balcony, deck, patio, terrace or verandah (screened enclosures)
most recent 20 Aug 2026
935 $65,000
907 costed
211 Lake Macquarie 62 · Central Coast Council 41 · Blue Mountains 38
Food and drink premises
most recent 12 Nov 2024
929 $145,000
655 costed
1,993 Council of the City of Sydney 170 · Inner West Council 44 · Sutherland 37
Medium Density Housing
most recent 20 Aug 2026
928 $1,258,342
860 costed
7,587 Shellharbour 71 · Central Coast Council 38 · Armidale Regional Council 34
Hotel or motel accommodation
most recent 20 Aug 2026
914 $2,800,000
713 costed
16,318 Council of the City of Sydney 286 · Inner West Council 25 · Bayside Council 23
Warehouse or distribution centre
most recent 19 Aug 2026
843 $1,425,000
727 costed
4 Canterbury-Bankstown Council 61 · Penrith 52 · Blacktown 45
Awnings, blinds and canopies
most recent 21 Aug 2026
823 $72,380
797 costed
448 Council of the City of Sydney 36 · Central Coast Council 35 · Lake Macquarie 32
Business identification sign
most recent 21 Aug 2026
821 $60,500
757 costed
685 Council of the City of Sydney 77 · City of Parramatta Council 40 · Camden Council 28
Non-standard Housing
most recent 19 Aug 2026
786 $334,986
748 costed
15,617 Lake Macquarie 32 · Central Coast Council 24 · Inner West Council 21
Shop
most recent 20 Aug 2026
773 $151,800
629 costed
6,622 Council of the City of Sydney 188 · City of Parramatta Council 25 · City of Canada Bay Council 23
Pathways and paving
most recent 19 Aug 2026
764 $434,500
740 costed
1,462 Northern Beaches Council 57 · The Hills 39 · Blacktown 30
Light industry
most recent 20 Aug 2026
711 $746,500
612 costed
96 Newcastle 44 · Central Coast Council 35 · Lake Macquarie 32
Place of public worship
most recent 18 Aug 2026
704 $313,170
573 costed
3,074 Council of the City of Sydney 44 · City of Parramatta Council 42 · Canterbury-Bankstown Council 37
Take away food and drink
most recent 19 Aug 2026
688 $99,000
559 costed
5,302 Council of the City of Sydney 90 · Canterbury-Bankstown Council 34 · Cumberland Council 27
Small bar
most recent 20 Aug 2026
660 $83,600
352 costed
343 Council of the City of Sydney 321 · Inner West Council 51 · Newcastle 25
Seniors housing
most recent 20 Aug 2026
636 $4,500,000
474 costed
28,598 Northern Beaches Council 56 · City of Parramatta Council 30 · The Council of the Shire of Hornsby 30
Community facility
most recent 18 Aug 2026
626 $475,323
550 costed
1,206 Council of the City of Sydney 39 · Canterbury-Bankstown Council 19 · Campbelltown 18
Health services facilities
most recent 11 Sep 2023
564 $383,900
455 costed
1,076 Penrith 27 · The Hills 26 · Liverpool 23
Early Education and Care Facility
most recent 20 Aug 2026
550 $2,010,500
472 costed
860 Blacktown 37 · Canterbury-Bankstown Council 31 · Cumberland Council 30
Agriculture
most recent 20 Aug 2026
539 $70,000
471 costed
118 Mid-Coast Council 27 · Cabonne 20 · Maitland 20
School
most recent 20 Aug 2026
519 $1,200,000
424 costed
65 Central Coast Council 23 · Camden Council 22 · Lake Macquarie 22
Take-away food and drink premises
most recent 18 Dec 2025
507 $95,000
402 costed
462 Council of the City of Sydney 54 · Wollongong 23 · Northern Beaches Council 20
Advertising structure
most recent 18 Aug 2026
486 $95,000
447 costed
34 Council of the City of Sydney 36 · Northern Beaches Council 21 · Inner West Council 19
Registered club
most recent 20 Aug 2026
469 $759,791
394 costed
781 Bayside Council 22 · Central Coast Council 18 · Georges River Council 17
Hot water systems
most recent 7 Aug 2026
461 $730,950
455 costed
640 Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council 34 · Goulburn Mulwaree Council 28 · Port Macquarie-Hastings Council 25
Air-conditioning units
most recent 19 Aug 2026
460 $701,800
447 costed
640 Port Macquarie-Hastings Council 32 · Mid-Coast Council 29 · Council of the City of Sydney 25
Tourist and visitor accommodation
most recent 20 Aug 2026
450 $946,855
378 costed
1,412 Council of the City of Sydney 61 · Cessnock 39 · Byron 25
Entertainment facility
most recent 20 Aug 2026
436 $100,000
286 costed
2,986 Council of the City of Sydney 109 · Shoalhaven 12 · Central Coast Council 11
Independent living units
most recent 18 Aug 2026
427 $7,184,014
345 costed
20,891 Northern Beaches Council 48 · The Council of the Shire of Hornsby 29 · Lake Macquarie 21
Multi-dwelling housing (terraces)
most recent 21 Aug 2026
410 $1,512,535
375 costed
5,148 Council of the City of Sydney 53 · Inner West Council 29 · Woollahra 29
Other Infrastructure
most recent 19 Aug 2026
403 $451,000
355 costed
2 Council of the City of Sydney 16 · Central Coast Council 10 · Cumberland Council 10
Vehicle repair station
most recent 20 Aug 2026
396 $35,000
299 costed
8 Canterbury-Bankstown Council 17 · Wagga Wagga 17 · Penrith 16
Service station
most recent 19 Aug 2026
395 $445,000
360 costed
1 Shoalhaven 15 · Blacktown 13 · Canterbury-Bankstown Council 13
Port, wharf, boating facilities
most recent 2 Dec 2023
393 $44,000
337 costed
90 Northern Beaches Council 46 · Central Coast Council 40 · Sutherland 33
Storage premises
most recent 21 Aug 2026
381 $399,626
336 costed
6 Bayside Council 26 · Cumberland Council 11 · Murray River Council 11
Recreation/Tourist Premise
most recent 14 Aug 2026
380 $400,000
315 costed
483 Council of the City of Sydney 40 · Mid-Coast Council 16 · Port Stephens Council 13
Telecommunications and communication facilities
most recent 25 Oct 2023
380 $100,000
359 costed
1,286 Cumberland Council 39 · Inner West Council 27 · Randwick 14
Stairway
most recent 20 Aug 2026
377 $383,387
364 costed
262 Northern Beaches Council 51 · Blacktown 22 · Woollahra 20
Specialised Retail Premises
most recent 20 Aug 2026
357 $150,000
314 costed
153 Council of the City of Sydney 41 · Central Coast Council 18 · The Hills 14
Recreation facility (outdoor)
most recent 21 Aug 2026
349 $250,000
303 costed
213 Lake Macquarie 17 · Central Coast Council 13 · Northern Beaches Council 13
Co-living
most recent 18 Aug 2026
342 $6,233,000
315 costed
33,418 Cumberland Council 38 · Council of the City of Sydney 32 · Bayside Council 26
Infrastructure
most recent 18 Aug 2026
335 $220,000
299 costed
152 Council of the City of Sydney 15 · Central Coast Council 14 · Shoalhaven 14
Clothes hoists and clothes lines
most recent 6 Aug 2026
328 $713,982
326 costed
479 Port Macquarie-Hastings Council 32 · Mid-Coast Council 27 · Blacktown 22
Skylights, roof windows and ventilators
most recent 18 Aug 2026
317 $612,762
310 costed
287 Northern Beaches Council 28 · Inner West Council 18 · Council of the City of Sydney 15
Vehicle Sales or Hire Premises
most recent 19 Aug 2026
311 $132,000
237 costed
61 The Hills 19 · Newcastle 18 · Camden Council 15
Exhibition home
most recent 19 Aug 2026
308 $416,750
286 costed
51 Camden Council 57 · Campbelltown 33 · Lake Macquarie 24
Moveable dwelling
most recent 17 Aug 2026
305 $101,293
284 costed
2,598 Berrigan 12 · Dungog 11 · Nambucca Valley Council 11
Neighbourhood shop
most recent 20 Aug 2026
303 $97,000
225 costed
3,344 Council of the City of Sydney 46 · Canterbury-Bankstown Council 20 · Cumberland Council 17
Building identification sign
most recent 21 Aug 2026
296 $62,051
268 costed
338 Council of the City of Sydney 26 · City of Parramatta Council 19 · Newcastle 13
Letterboxes
most recent 5 Aug 2026
296 $728,000
289 costed
618 Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council 24 · The Hills 24 · Blacktown 22
Access ramp
most recent 6 Aug 2026
284 $276,330
272 costed
424 Northern Beaches Council 26 · Blacktown 20 · Lake Macquarie 12

Cost of works is the applicant's own estimate as lodged, so this reports the median rather than a total: the feed contains keying errors large enough to make sums meaningless — the biggest is $1,111,111,111,111 against alterations to a house, and 22 applications state a cost above $1,000,000,000 and are excluded here. Types with fewer than 20 applications are left out, because a median of a handful is noise. Source: NSW Planning Portal — Online DA open API, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.