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What is this template for?

The pre-application meeting minutes template can be used by both applicants and planners to keep a record of the conversation at a pre-application meeting. Taking minutes at the meeting helps to make communication between a planner and an applicant clear and consistent.

The template also serves as a guide for the flow of the conversation. It prompts the planner to discuss the critical areas of an application.

Instructions for use

The template can be customised to meet your councils application process requirements.

Updating text on the meeting minutes template

The template has been created as a guide for critical topics that must be discussed in a pre-application meeting. You should edit the template to fit the specific needs of your council and add or remove items for discussion as appropriate.

The following areas of the template should customised for your council:

  1. add your letterhead or logo/standard headers and footers to identify your council
  2. add rows for any additional items you collect from an applicant prior to a pre-application meeting to the first table
  3. add or remove items for discussion in the second table
  4. enter your local Water, Gas and power and Roads authorities under ‘What other authorities should I contact before lodging my application?’
  5. tailor the list of links and include links from your council website where information may be useful.

Where should the meeting minutes be available?

The template can be made available on your council website for applicants to use. It should also be included in standard documentation planners use at pre-application meetings.

Tips to get the most out of this template

For this template to be effective at your council, we recommend:

  • make a customised version of the template easily available to your planners and applicants
  • ask that planners share their minutes with applicants after each meeting
  • store a copy of the pre-application meeting minutes where it can be easily located when an application is received from the applicant.
  • It may not be the same planner who conducted the pre-application meeting who is assigned to assess the application once it is received. Therefore, the details in the minutes, and the location of the stored copy need to be easily understood by all in the planning department.

Having an easily accessible, clear record of the planners' understanding of the meeting will reduce misunderstandings later in the process.

Page last updated: 01/07/24