Exempt Development Tool
A government capstone: a rules engine that assesses building proposals against NSW planning law and returns a clear, clause-referenced decision.
The problem
Working out whether a shed or patio needs council approval means reading dense NSW planning legislation (SEPP). Residents can't, and council staff field the same questions constantly. Albury City Council wanted a tool that turns the law into a clear yes/no with reasons.
The approach
Delivered as a final-year industry capstone for a real government client, in a team of 5. I built the rules engine that evaluates a proposal against SEPP Part 2 — height, floor area, boundary setbacks, heritage/flood/bushfire overlays, asbestos and tree rules — and returns EXEMPT / NON-EXEMPT with the exact clauses applied. I also built the React frontend and Google Maps integration over a 25,305-record property database, and led testing with a Jest suite.
Architecture
Address search ─▶ Property DB (25,305 records) ─▶ zoning + overlays auto-filled
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Proposal inputs (structure, height, area, setbacks, asbestos, trees…)
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Rules engine (SEPP Part 2 decision tree)
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Result: EXEMPT / NON-EXEMPT
• per-clause COMPLIES / FAILS • your value vs the legal limit • plain-English reasonKey decisions & trade-offs
- ▸A transparent rules engine, not an LLM — planning decisions must be auditable and cite exact clauses.
- ▸Auto-fill zoning and overlays from the property DB so users only enter what they actually know.
- ▸Every decision returns the clause + your value vs the limit, so the answer is defensible.
- ▸Jest unit + integration suite mapped to the client's acceptance criteria.
Results / impact
- ✓Turns dense NSW planning legislation into an instant EXEMPT / NON-EXEMPT decision with exact clause citations.
- ✓Address search auto-fills zoning and overlays from 25,305 real Council property records.
- ✓Delivered to and accepted by the client, validated against acceptance criteria with a Jest test suite.
Roadmap
- ▸Extend beyond sheds and patios to more structure types.
- ▸Add a map overlay showing assessed properties and their zoning.