The short version
PlanningAlerts, run by the charity OpenAustralia Foundation, collects planning applications from council websites across Australia. Anyone can search for applications within 2 km of an address, sign up for email alerts and post comments for the council to consider. It is free and built for the public.
PlanInsight starts from the lot rather than the neighbourhood. You see the applications lodged on a property together with its title details, zone, hazard overlays, BYDA plans and a DXF for CAD. It is built for surveyors, engineers, planners and anyone who has to act on the answer.
PlanInsight as a PlanningAlerts alternative, side by side
| PlanInsight | PlanningAlerts | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Surveyors, engineers, planners, conveyancers, buyers agents | The general public and community groups |
| Price | Free boundary DXF; $29 report; plans from $49/mo | Free, supported by donations |
| Search | By address or lot and plan, one property at a time | Applications within 2 km of an address |
| Alerts | New-DA and status-change notifications on paid plans | Free email alerts for new applications |
| Public comments to council | Not offered | Yes |
| Title, zone and hazard overlays | On every property page | Not offered |
| CAD file (DXF) | Boundary free; contours, buildings and overlays on paid plans and reports | Not offered |
| BYDA enquiries | Lodged from the property page | Not offered |
When PlanningAlerts is the better fit
If you want to know what is being built around your home and tell the council what you think, PlanningAlerts is the right tool, and it costs nothing. Its public comments feature has no equivalent in PlanInsight.
When PlanInsight is the better fit
A professional usually needs more than a list of nearby applications. You need the history of one lot, its status and decision dates, and everything else that shapes the job: the zone, the overlays, the services in the street and a file you can draw on. PlanInsight puts those in one place.
See how town planners and conveyancers use it.