How Development Reports works

Start with the report or issue you have been asked about.

Each category guide explains:

• What the report or assessment is.
• When it may be required.
• What it can cover.
• Who typically prepares it.
• Important terminology and qualification considerations.
• What to consider when choosing a consultant.
• Relevant NSW or Australian guidance where available.

If you are preparing a development application and do not yet know which reports might apply, start with: What Reports Do You Need for a Development Application?

That guide explains how report requirements vary between projects and why you should confirm the actual requirements applying to your site before commissioning consultants.

Once you know the type of specialist you need, browse the directory by report category and, where supported by our data, project location.

Provider profiles are compiled from publicly available business information and may include details such as:

• Services offered.
• Report types.
• Business location.
• Service areas.
• Contact details.
• Qualifications or professional memberships where supported by a source.

We deliberately avoid filling missing information by guesswork.

If our source data does not establish a provider’s location, qualification, service area or other detail, we do not intentionally invent it simply to make a listing look more complete.

For more detail, see our Listing Standards.

A listing gives you a starting point for comparing specialists who work in the relevant field.

Development Reports does not rank a provider as the “best” consultant for your project and a listing should not be treated as an endorsement.

Before engaging someone, consider the requirements of your particular project.

Depending on the report, this may include checking:

• Relevant qualifications.
• Experience with similar developments.
• Whether the consultant satisfies any council or consent-condition requirements.
• The proposed scope of work.
• Timing.
• Fees.
• Insurance or professional credentials where relevant.

The exact matters worth checking vary considerably between report types, which is why our category guides include report-specific guidance.

Where contact information is available, you can visit the provider’s website, call them or use the available contact option.

You currently deal directly with the consultant rather than Development Reports managing the professional engagement on your behalf.

Development Reports does not currently select a consultant for you, enter into the consulting engagement or receive a commission simply because you engage a business listed in the directory.

The consultant is responsible for their own services, fees, advice and engagement terms.

Directory results are drawn from the Development Reports provider database.

Listings are currently shown independently of payment and should not be interpreted as a ranking of professional quality.

Where location-based pages or filters are available, a provider is only included where the information in our database reasonably supports that service location.

For example, we do not deliberately treat a generic “NSW” service statement as proof that a provider services every NSW city.

If commercial listing features are introduced in future, any paid or promoted treatment should be clearly distinguishable from independent directory information.

Development Reports does not:

• Decide which reports your individual project requires.
• Recommend one provider as the best choice for your project.
• Guarantee a provider’s qualifications, availability or suitability.
• Guarantee the accuracy of information published by third-party businesses.
• Guarantee the outcome of any planning, certification or construction process.
• Provide planning, engineering, legal, building or other professional advice.
• Become a party to the agreement between you and a consultant simply because you found the provider through the directory.

Our guides and directory are intended to help you understand your options and find relevant specialists.

Always confirm the requirements applying to your development with the appropriate consent authority and professional team.

Some business profiles are created from publicly available business information rather than being submitted directly by the provider.

If your business is listed, you can claim the profile and provide corrections or updated information.

Claiming a profile does not mean Development Reports endorses or recommends the business.

Likewise, an unclaimed profile does not mean the business is unverified, unsuitable or inactive. It simply means the profile has not yet been claimed through Development Reports.

Submitted changes are subject to our listing process and standards before being published.

Where Development Reports uses profile-status labels, they should be interpreted narrowly.

A claimed profile means a representative of the business has gone through the Development Reports claim process.

If a separate “verified” status is introduced or displayed, it should refer only to the specific information Development Reports has checked.

It should not imply that Development Reports guarantees:

• the quality of the consultant’s work;
• the suitability of the consultant for a particular project;
• professional performance;
• regulatory compliance; or
• the outcome of an engagement.