The hidden start: what it really takes to get to lodgement
For an architect-designed home or major renovation, getting to lodged plans typically takes months. Indicatively, intent to lodgement is about 9 months, with a range of roughly 4–18 months. The least visible part is the very start.
Published by Archive Design. Michael Dean Kut is an adviser to Archive Design. This paper is written in a personal capacity and does not represent his employer. Archive Design gathered the data and has a commercial interest in the early stage this paper describes.
What the start actually takes
3–9 months
Design stages
From engaging an architect to lodging plans, four published practice timelines put the typical design phase at around 22 weeks.
6–38 weeks
The unmeasured start
No Australian source tracks how long homeowners spend researching, budgeting and finding the right architect. On a working model, it adds 6 to 38 weeks before design begins.
About 9 months
Intent to lodgement
Indicatively, intent to lodgement is about 9 months, with a range of roughly 4–18 months. This combines the measured design stages with the modelled start.
$2,000–$5,000
Each month of delay, per $1 million
House construction prices rose 5.9% in the year to June 2026 (ABS). At recent rates, each month a build is pushed back adds roughly $2,000–$5,000 per $1 million of construction, and more in QLD, SA, WA and TAS.
2–5 months
Approval after lodgement
Approval adds 2–5 months after lodgement, depending on the state and council. NSW’s average assessment time fell from 115 to 84 days between 2024 and May 2026.
From first intent to lodged plans
Once an architect is engaged, the design stages take about 22 weeks in a typical project. The two stages before that are the least measured, and they can add anywhere from 6 to 38 weeks.
- Modelled
4–26 weeks
01Research, brief and budget
Working out what you want, what you can spend, and whether an architect is the right help.
- Modelled
2–12 weeks
02Find and engage an architect
Shortlisting on built work, checking registration, and agreeing to start.
- Sourced
About 22 weeks
03Design to lodgement
Four published Australian practice timelines put a typical design phase at around 22 weeks, within a wider band of about 3–9 months.
A range of roughly 4–18 months. Stage durations are summed as if sequential. In practice some overlap, so a real project may be slightly shorter.
The stage nobody measures
Before any design work starts, homeowners have to work out what they want, what they can spend, and who to trust with it. In Australia this stage is not recorded by councils, the ABS or the profession.
How homeowners search today
Word of mouth, scrolling portfolios and awards, and tracing architects from the DA signage on nearby projects. The same questions recur on public forums: who to engage, how working with an architect works, and how to find a good one.
What the evidence suggests
Wherever planning time is measured, it outlasts construction. Australian renovators in 2019 spent about twice as long planning as building (Houzz AU 2020 study, covering 2019 projects).
Why it matters
A misaligned start costs time later. Refusal is rare (fewer than 1% of applications are rejected at lodgement at one Sydney council), but information requests and redesign cycles can add months to assessment.
What practices say
One published practice guide allows 2–3 weeks to select and engage an architect. That is the architect’s view of a process that, for many homeowners, starts well before the first call.
Kitchens averaged 11.1 months of planning in Australia (Houzz AU 2020 study, covering 2019 projects). US homeowners in 2025 spent 9.5 months planning a kitchen against 5.8 months building it (Houzz US Renovation Nation 2026, covering 2025 projects).
What the time costs
Build prices keep rising while a project waits. House construction prices rose 5.9% nationally in the year to June 2026, the fastest quarterly rise since September 2022 (ABS).
A typical project. At the national rate, a six-week search on a $1.5 million build is worth about $10,000 of price growth, and a twelve-week search about $20,000.
Two indexes, one range. The ABS index measures what builders charge for new houses. The Cordell index measures residential build costs and rose 2.5% in 2025 (Cotality). Together they put the national cost of delay at about $2,000–$5,000 a month per $1 million, and more in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
These figures are indicative, not quotes. Actual prices depend on the builder, the site and the market at tender.
5.9%
House construction prices
National rise in the year to June 2026, the fastest quarterly rise since September 2022 (ABS).
$10,000
Six-week search
Indicative price growth on a $1.5 million build, at the national rate.
$20,000
Twelve-week search
The same build, if the search runs to twelve weeks.
Approval times by state
The approval pathway changes the time after lodgement far more than the time before it. The design documentation still has to be prepared either way.
| State | Fast pathway | Standard pathway |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | 20daysComplying development (CDC) in as little as 20 days; 10 days for Pattern Book homes (NSW Planning). | 84daysDA: the state average fell from 115 to 84 days by May 2026, against a 90-day target for 2026–27 (NSW Planning). Council averages ranged from 18 to 174 days in June 2026 (council league table). |
| VIC | 29daysVicSmart: about 29 days on average (2024). | 155daysPlanning permit: about 155 days on average in 2024 (PPARS, via planning-permit.com.au). |
| QLD | 35business daysCode assessment: 35-business-day statutory decision period. | 62daysBrisbane: median 62 days for decided applications since 2023 (Casa Intelligence). |
| WA | 10business daysCertified building permit: 10 business days. | 60–90daysDevelopment approval: 60 days (non-advertised) or 90 days (advertised), statutory (Town of Mosman Park). |
- State
- NSW
- Fast pathway
- 20daysComplying development (CDC) in as little as 20 days; 10 days for Pattern Book homes (NSW Planning).
- Standard pathway
- 84daysDA: the state average fell from 115 to 84 days by May 2026, against a 90-day target for 2026–27 (NSW Planning). Council averages ranged from 18 to 174 days in June 2026 (council league table).
- State
- VIC
- Fast pathway
- 29daysVicSmart: about 29 days on average (2024).
- Standard pathway
- 155daysPlanning permit: about 155 days on average in 2024 (PPARS, via planning-permit.com.au).
- State
- QLD
- Fast pathway
- 35business daysCode assessment: 35-business-day statutory decision period.
- Standard pathway
- 62daysBrisbane: median 62 days for decided applications since 2023 (Casa Intelligence).
- State
- WA
- Fast pathway
- 10business daysCertified building permit: 10 business days.
- Standard pathway
- 60–90daysDevelopment approval: 60 days (non-advertised) or 90 days (advertised), statutory (Town of Mosman Park).
After approval, houses averaged about 9 weeks from approval to the start of construction (ABS, 2018–19), and 12.7 months from approval to completion in 2024 (IPA analysis of ABS data).
South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory are not yet covered.
What homeowners can do
The start is the one stage homeowners control, and most of the steps that shorten it cost nothing.
Our renovation value study looks at which NSW renovations paid off at resale.
Write a brief before you speak to anyone. Cover the site, how you want to live, your style references and must-haves. Architects can then tell you quickly whether they are a fit. If you are still deciding whether an architect is the right help, the free Do I need an architect? check takes about three minutes.
Set a budget range early, including fees and contingency. Budget is a frequent source of misalignment, and a range is enough to start. The architect fees guide sets out how Australian practices typically charge.
Shortlist on built work that resembles your project, at a similar scale, budget and site type, rather than on awards or general style.
Check registration. Every state keeps a public register of architects.
Ask about the approval pathway in the first meeting. Whether a fast-track route, such as a CDC or VicSmart, is possible changes the timeline after lodgement.
Book the site survey early. It usually takes 1–2 weeks, and design cannot start properly without it.
Allow for the full journey: months of design before lodgement, then 2–5 months of assessment, before construction can start.
Questions this paper answers
Methodology and limitations
This paper combines published data with a working model. Every figure is labelled as sourced or modelled.
- Scope. Architect-designed new homes on a site the owner already holds, and major renovations needing approval, Australia-wide. Project homes and multi-unit development are excluded.
- Start and end points. From a homeowner’s first serious intent (actively researching or budgeting for a specific project) to lodgement of a DA, planning permit, CDC or equivalent.
- Design stages (sourced). Low, typical and high durations from four published Australian practice timelines. Those practices are NSW-based.
- Pre-architect stages (modelled). 4–26 weeks for research, brief and budget, and 2–12 weeks to find and engage an architect. These are working assumptions informed by Houzz survey data and founder observation, not measurements.
- Totals. Stage durations are summed as if sequential. In practice some overlap, so real totals may be slightly shorter.
- Cost of delay. Monthly rates are derived from annual changes in the ABS house construction output price index and the Cordell Construction Cost Index. They are indicative, not quotes.
- Known gaps. No source separates new homes from renovations for the design stages. Victorian permit times come via a secondary source. South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory are not yet covered. Practice timelines are the practices’ own guidance and may lean optimistic.
The next edition will add anonymised data from homeowners’ briefs on when they started planning and how long their search took, to replace the modelled stages.
About this paper
Author. Michael Dean Kut, Registered Architect (NSW, ARB No. 13156).
Publisher. Archive Design. Edition v1. . Figures are current as of October 2026. Corrections: [email protected].
Roles. Archive Design gathered the data and built the model. Michael Dean Kut authored this paper and contributed to the design-stage timelines and the description of the architectural process. Data sources are cited throughout. The cost and approval figures were not independently verified by him.
Disclosure. Archive Design is a curated service that matches homeowners with residential architects, and has a commercial interest in the early stage this paper describes. Michael Dean Kut is an adviser to Archive Design. His contribution is given in a personal capacity and does not represent his employer.
How to cite this paper
Kut, M. D. (2026). The hidden start: what it really takes to get to lodgement (Edition v1). Archive Design. https://www.archivedesign.ai/research/the-hidden-start
Where the figures come from
Government and official data
- ABS — Producer Price Indexes, Australia
- ABS — Average dwelling commencement times
- NSW Planning — Statement of Expectations Order
- NSW Planning — Council league table
- NSW Planning Portal — Complying development
- Woollahra Council — Rejection at lodgement
- Town of Mosman Park — Approvals and timeframes (WA)
Industry data and analysis
- planning-permit.com.au — How long planning permits take in Victoria
- Cotality — Cordell Construction Cost Index, Dec 2025
- IPA — Nationwide handbrake on housing construction (2025)
- Houzz — 2020 AU Houzz & Home Renovation Trends Study
- Houzz — Renovation Nation: 2026 trends (US)
- Casa Intelligence — Development applications in Brisbane (2026)