The Firms Behind Waverley's DAs — And Their Track Records
853 panel-assessed development applications. 624 different applicants. And a Clause 4.6 rate that tells you everything about how this market actually works.
If you lodge a development application in Waverley, there's roughly a 50% chance it will involve a request to vary the council's planning controls. That's not a guess — it's what the data shows across every panel-assessed DA in our database.
UNDA tracks 12,000+ development applications across the Waverley local government area, including 853 that were assessed by the local planning panel. When you map the firms behind those panel applications — who lodges, how often, and what happens — patterns emerge that no individual practitioner can see from their own caseload.
The Numbers at a Glance
Of 853 panel-assessed DAs in Waverley, 650 were approved (76.2%) and 176 were refused (20.6%). The remaining 23 were deferred. The panel diverged from council staff's recommendation just 29 times — meaning in 96.6% of cases, the panel agreed with the officers' assessment.
But here's the number that defines Waverley: 429 of those 853 applications — 50.3% — invoked Clause 4.6 variations. More than half of all panel-determined DAs asked the panel to depart from the development standards in the LEP.
In a market where pushing limits is the norm, knowing which firms consistently get across the line — and which don't — is intelligence worth having.
The Repeat Players
Most applicants appear before Waverley's panel once. Of the 624 unique applicants in our data, only a handful have lodged multiple applications. Those repeat players tell a revealing story.
MHN Design Union (including name variants MHNDU, MHN Design Union Pty Ltd, and MHN Design Union Pty Limited) has appeared on 18 panel-assessed DAs — the most of any architectural firm. Their consolidated approval rate sits around 72%, with Clause 4.6 invoked in the majority of their applications.
CSA Architects (including applications lodged by director Alex Smith) has 17 panel appearances, with an approval rate of approximately 76%. They invoke Clause 4.6 in the majority of their DAs — 10 out of 17. CSA is a volume operator.
Common Office has appeared six times with an 83.3% approval rate. Tobias Partners has four appearances at 75% approval. Uri T Design also has four, at 75%.
Then there are the outliers. Cape Cod Australia has appeared eight times across name variants — but with only a 50% approval rate. Corona Projects lodged three DAs and was refused on all three. Molnar Freeman Architects went 0 for 3 as well.
Bondi Beach Leads the Volume — Dover Heights Leads the Approvals
Bondi Beach accounts for 160 panel-assessed applications with an 80% approval rate. Bronte follows with 122 (73% approved), then North Bondi with 104 (72.1%).
Dover Heights: 102 panel DAs, 81.4% approved. Queens Park is even higher at 88.5%, though with a smaller sample of 26 applications.
The toughest suburb? Bondi itself — just 68.9% approval across 74 panel DAs.
What They're Building
Low-density residential development dominates: 394 panel DAs (46%), 74.4% approval. "Other residential": 218 (78.9% approved). Modifications of consent: 84 (88.1% approved). Commercial: just 35 DAs, 74.3% approval.
The Clause 4.6 Question
With over half of panel DAs involving a variation request, Waverley operates in what is effectively a post-LEP environment. The new "significant likely impacts" test could further tilt the playing field toward approval for firms that know how to frame their Clause 4.6 justifications.
UNDA Development tracks 12,000+ development applications across Waverley and Randwick, including 1,362 panel-assessed items with full determination data. Analysis current as at August 2026.
