Deposited Plan

Whether you're building, buying, investing, or developing, one key document you'll encounter is the Deposited Plan, commonly abbreviated as a DP. Understanding this document is crucial for navigating the complexities of property transactions and development with confidence. 

A Deposited Plan (DP) is an official document, registered with the state's Land Registry Services, which outlines the legal boundaries and features of a parcel of land. Key components of a DP include precise measurements of the property's size and shape, as well as details of any physical and unseen boundaries.

Deposited Plans serve multiple purposes:

• Subdivisions: Most commonly, DPs are used to depict the subdivision of land, specifying how a larger parcel is divided into smaller lots.
• Easements and Resumptions: They detail any rights and restrictions associated with the land, such as easements for utilities or access rights, and resumptions, where land is reclaimed by the government.
• Support for Primary Applications: DPs may be prepared to support applications for new land titles, including registrations of new parcels created from subdivisions.

Each Deposited Plan is assigned a unique 'DP number' for identification, such as DP 896528. It’s important to note that certain series of DPs, specifically from DP 750000 to 759999, will not have a paper image available; these typically relate to specific legal classifications like Crown Portions and Town Allotments, where a Crown Plan is necessary instead.

From historical context, since the inception of the Real Property Act in 1863 and other relevant legislation, property owners in New South Wales and other regions are required to lodge a DP, prepared by a registered surveyor, whenever they intend to create, subdivide, or otherwise transact with a land parcel. The Registrar General's Guidelines for Deposited Plans provide a practical framework for preparing these plans for lodgement.

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