What’s permitted in SP5 Metropolitan Centre
Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012 · as at 19 August 2026 · City of Sydney
This comes straight from the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) that applies to this exact address, not a general state guide.
The land use table
These are the planning scheme’s official terms. A close match tells you the rule for that term; whether your project counts as that term is a judgement call.
Permitted with consent 15
Development Application (DA)
- Centre-based child care facilities
- Commercial premises
- Community facilities
- Educational establishments
- Entertainment facilities
- Function centres
- Information and education facilities
- Oyster aquaculture
- Passenger transport facilities
- Recreation facilities (indoor)
- Registered clubs
- Respite day care centres
- Restricted premises
- Tank-based aquaculture
- Tourist and visitor accommodation
Prohibited 1
- Pond-based aquaculture
Anything not named below is treated as “Permitted with consent”. That is not the same as being on the list.
Objectives of this zone
- To recognise and provide for the pre-eminent role of business, office, retail, entertainment and tourist premises in Australia’s participation in the global economy.
- To provide opportunities for an intensity of land uses commensurate with Sydney’s global status.
- To permit a diversity of compatible land uses that are characteristic of Sydney’s global status and that serve the workforce, visitors and wider community.
- To encourage the use of alternatives to private motor vehicles, including public transport, walking and cycling.
- To promote land uses with active street frontages within podiums that contribute to the character of the street.
- To promote the efficient and orderly development of land in a compact urban centre.
- To promote a diversity of commercial opportunities varying in size, type and function, including new cultural, social and community facilities.
- To recognise the important role that central Sydney’s public spaces, streets and amenity play in a global city.
- To promote the primary role of the zone as a centre for employment and permit residential accommodation and serviced apartments where the accommodation complements employment-generating land uses.
Some state-level housing and precinct policies sit above council rules and can override them — those aren’t included here.
A council’s LEP can also grant extra permitted uses of its own on top of the standard list — those aren’t included here either.
Check a property in Sydney
This page is the table for the zone. Search an address to see whether this zone actually covers the lot, or open the Sydney zoning map.
Other zones in Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012
Building rules
Frequently asked questions
Does this SP5 Metropolitan Centre table apply to my property in Sydney?
Only if this zone and this planning scheme apply to the land. Search your address — that is what names both.
Can I assume my project is one of the terms listed for SP5 Metropolitan Centre?
No. The list uses the planning scheme’s official names. Whether your project counts as one of those names is a judgement call — that’s what a planner is for.
If a use is not listed in SP5 Metropolitan Centre, is it prohibited in Sydney?
Not by itself. Unlisted uses follow this zone’s fallback (“Permitted with consent”). That is different from being named on the list.
Sources
General guidance only — not planning advice. This is the land use table from Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, sourced 19 August 2026. It does not decide what your project is, and overlays can still change what you need to apply for.
Talk to a town planner in Sydney
This page covers the general rules. A qualified town planner can tell you what applies to your actual block — the zone, the overlays and the approval path — before you spend money on drawings.
- Qualified, practising town planners
- Advice on your property, not a generic rule
- No cost, no obligation