Creating a community scheme

Planning framework overview

For a community titles scheme subdivision of your parcel of land to occur you must first draft a community development statement. This is to be submitted and approved by the WAPC along with relevant planning approvals.

What is a community development statement (CDS)?

A CDS is a document that identifies the location of the land and sets out how the community scheme will be subdivided and developed.

A CDS sets out planning, design and development information for a community scheme, giving a clear expectation of outcomes.

It must be approved by the WAPC and is required before a community scheme can be registered. It should demonstrate why a community scheme is an appropriate form of subdivision for the land in question. This could include matters like the subdivision, development, land use purposes, staging, sequencing and other relevant matters.

The WAPC’s decision to approve a CDS will be informed by the relevant planning context, such as state planning policies, planning schemes and interim development orders, and the preservation of the amenity of the locality.

Learn about preparing a CDS

The following two resources from the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) are central to learning how to prepare a CDS:

• The Operational Policy for Community Schemes
• The Community Scheme Guidelines

Next steps: after a CDS is approved

If approval of the CDS is obtained, you can register your scheme over the land. To achieve this, a scheme notice, scheme plan approved by the WAPC, schedule of unit entitlements and scheme by-laws must be lodged with the Registrar of Titles, together with the approved CDS for incorporation into the Register.

When the first community titles scheme is registered over the land, the community scheme comes into existence.

Once the community scheme is registered, further subdivision of the land in the community scheme must be approved by planning decision-makers such as WAPC. Subdivision applications must be approved if they are consistent with the CDS and within the timeframes set out in the Community Titles Act 2018.

There can be up to three tiers of community titles schemes in a community scheme. A certificate of title - for each community title lot in a community titles scheme - is created and registered under the Transfer of Land Act 1893.