ZoneScout

Where can you build Home-based child care in NSW?

“Home-based child care” is a defined term in the NSW planning system, and every council’s Local Environmental Plan decides which zones allow it. Across 147 council LEPs it is permitted in 27 zones and prohibited in 31.

Zone by zone, across 147 NSW councils

Each row counts councils, not properties. “Without consent” means no application is needed; “with consent” means a development application. “Can’t say” is not a ban. Either the council has no rule for this use in that zone, or the use is a broad term whose types the table treats differently, so the answer depends on which type a project is.

ZoneWithout consentWith consentProhibitedCan’t sayCouncils with this zone
E1 Local Centre396616—121
R5 Large Lot Residential49552—106
RU1 Primary Production48527—107
RU5 Village43543—100
R1 General Residential38536—97
MU1 Mixed Use21597—87
R2 Low Density Residential274911—87
R3 Medium Density Residential19469—74
C3 Environmental Management244021—85
C4 Environmental Living153313—61
E3 Productivity Support212747—95
RU2 Rural Landscape17311—49
RU4 Primary Production Small Lots23229—54
E2 Commercial Centre123122—65
E4 General Industrial221101—124
R4 High Density Residential5187—30
SP3 Tourist6638—50
C2 Environmental Conservation—982—91
RU6 Transition—86—14
RE2 Private Recreation42119—125
E5 Heavy Industrial—323—26
SP4 Enterprise—311—14
W4 Working Waterfront—320—23
RU3 Forestry1179—81
RE1 Public Recreation—1133—134
SP2 Infrastructure—11331135
SP5 Metropolitan Centre—1——1
C1 National Parks and Nature Reserves——123—123
SP1 Special Activities——78—78
W1 Natural Waterways——63—63
W2 Recreational Waterways——59—59
W3 Working Waterways——10—10

How those answers were reached. 1,080 of the “prohibited” answers and 324 of the “with consent” answers come from the zone’s catch-all row. The scheme doesn’t name this use in that zone, but it says what happens to everything it has not named. That is a real answer, not a guess, and it is the reason a count of explicit listings would tell you the opposite in some zones.

What this page cannot tell you

Which zone your land is in, and whether your project is characterised as a home-based child care in the first place. The first is a question about an address; the second is a planning judgement. Check an address for the zone and the overlays on it.

Frequently asked questions

Are home-based child care allowed in every council in New South Wales?

No. Each council’s Local Environmental Plan has its own land use table, and they differ. This page counts, zone by zone, how many of the 147 NSW council LEPs permit it, prohibit it, or say nothing either way.

My zone shows a number under “Can’t say”. What does that mean?

It means the council’s table doesn’t settle it. Either it neither names this use in that zone nor has a catch-all row for everything it has not named, or this is a broad term (such as agriculture or retail premises) and the table lists some of its types but not the term as a whole. It is not a ban and it is not permission.

Does this tell me whether my project counts as home-based child care?

No, and that is deliberate. Deciding which defined term your project is called is a planning judgement, not something this page can do for you. Search your address for the zone, then talk to a planner about how the project is characterised.

Sources

Last reviewed: the published LEPs. Rules can change, so verify with your council before starting work.

General guidance only. Not professional planning advice. Land use tables change as councils amend their LEPs; always confirm against the current instrument for your land.

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