OWNER BUILDER RESOURCE

What Is a "Landscape Plan"?

The landscape plan is the drawing that shows what happens to everything outside the building — the plants, the existing trees, and where the rain goes.

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The short version

Like the site plan, a landscape plan is a bird's-eye view of your block — but instead of focusing on the building, it focuses on everything green (and everything wet) around it. It has four main jobs:

Planting details — what new garden beds, lawn areas, and trees are going in, and roughly where, so the assessor can see the block won't just be left as bare dirt or paving.

Trees retained/removed — every existing tree on the block is drawn (usually as a circle showing its canopy spread), and clearly marked as either kept or removed. If a tree is regulated or registered, this is also where the tree management plan (if one's needed) connects in.

Permeability — how much of the ground surface lets rainwater soak straight through (garden beds, lawn, gravel) versus how much is sealed and won't (concrete, pavers, the building itself). Most zones set a minimum amount of permeable, unsealed ground your block has to keep.

Stormwater management — where the rain that lands on your roof and paving actually goes once it runs off: which direction it flows, and where it eventually reaches the street drain or a soakage area, so it doesn't pool on your block or flood a neighbour's.

Who prepares this? Your drafting team draws the landscape plan alongside the site plan, working from the surveyor's tree and contour data to mark what's kept, what's removed, and how water drains off the finished block.

Reading a landscape plan

Driveway House Granny flat Existing tree RETAIN Existing tree REMOVE New planting bed (permeable) Lawn (permeable) Stormwater flow path → street drain
Existing tree — retained
Existing tree — removed
New planting (permeable)
Driveway (impermeable)
Stormwater flow path

Planting details

New garden beds, lawn areas and trees, with rough species and location — shows the block will be genuinely landscaped, not left bare.

Trees retained/removed

Every existing tree drawn with its canopy spread, clearly marked as kept or removed. Removing a regulated tree may need its own tree management plan.

Permeability

How much ground stays unsealed and able to absorb rainwater (garden, lawn, gravel) versus sealed hard surfaces (paving, concrete, roof).

Stormwater management

Where roof and paving runoff actually flows once it leaves your block, so it reaches the street drain rather than pooling or flooding next door.

This is one of the core documents required for almost every granny flat DA. See the full DA Documentation Checklist for everything else you'll need.

Let your drafting team plan the landscaping

Canberra Drafting manages our DA & BA paperwork end to end — call us and we'll walk you through exactly what your block needs.

Call: 0403 370 551