NSW Planning Data (x402)

Search NSW complying development certificates (CDCs) by council, suburb, postcode or lodgement date, newest lodgement first.

nsw_cdc_search_applications

Read-onlyIdempotent

Search NSW complying development certificates (CDCs) by council, suburb, postcode or lodgement date, newest lodgement first. Returns up to 100 complying development certificates (CDCs) per call with address, status, cost, dwellings, storeys and development types, plus has_more for paging with offset. status, application_type, development_type and min_cost must be combined with council, suburb or postcode. Use get_application for the full record of a result. Costs $0.01 per call, paid via x402 in USDC on Base; the first 3 paid-tool calls per day are free for MCP clients while a shared daily allowance lasts. Without x402 support, later calls return the payment requirements as an error result. Failed calls are not charged. Source: NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (NSW Planning Portal), CC BY 4.0.

Tool call template

This tool declares no required parameters. Add optional parameters from the input schema as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {},
    "name": "nsw_cdc_search_applications"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No	Page size, 1-100 (default 20)
`offset`	No	Number of results to skip, 0-1000 (default 0)
`status`	No	Application status, exact and case-sensitive; valid values are the keys of by_status in nsw_cdc_get_summary (e.g. Approved)
`suburb`	No	Suburb of the primary address, case-insensitive (e.g. ERMINGTON)
`council`	No	Council name or part of it, case-insensitive; matches every council whose name contains it. Full names are in by_council of nsw_cdc_get_summary (e.g. Parramatta)
`min_cost`	No	Minimum estimated cost of development in AUD (e.g. 1000000)
`postcode`	No	4-digit postcode of the primary address (e.g. 2115)
`lodged_to`	No	Lodgement date upper bound, yyyy-mm-dd (e.g. 2026-06-30)
`lodged_from`	No	Lodgement date lower bound, yyyy-mm-dd (e.g. 2026-01-01)
`application_type`	No	Application type, exact and case-sensitive; valid values are the keys of by_application_type in nsw_cdc_get_summary (e.g. Complying Development Certificate Application)
`development_type`	No	Development type, partial match (e.g. dwelling)

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`data`	No	Result: a list of applications for search and nearby tools, one record or summary object otherwise
`meta`	Yes	Paging and query details, e.g. limit, offset, has_more, count
`attribution`	Yes	Source attribution; keep it when presenting the data

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed3 schema fields changedOct 29, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / application_type / description

Previous value: -"Application type, exact match (e.g. Complying Development Certificate Application)"New value: +"Application type, exact and case-sensitive; valid values are the keys of by_application_type in nsw_cdc_get_summary (e.g. Complying Development Certificate Application)"

changedInput schema / properties / council / description

Previous value: -"Council name, partial case-insensitive match (see by_council in /summary) (e.g. Parramatta)"New value: +"Council name or part of it, case-insensitive; matches every council whose name contains it. Full names are in by_council of nsw_cdc_get_summary (e.g. Parramatta)"

changedInput schema / properties / status / description

Previous value: -"Application status, exact match (e.g. Approved)"New value: +"Application status, exact and case-sensitive; valid values are the keys of by_status in nsw_cdc_get_summary (e.g. Approved)"

AddedOct 5, 2026

TDQS

A4.6/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Beyond the annotations, the description discloses pagination via has_more/offset, the 100-result cap, payment behavior, the free daily allowance, x402 error behavior, and that failed calls are not charged. These are meaningful operational details not covered by the readOnly/idempotent annotations.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is front-loaded with purpose, sorting, and return shape, then moves into constraints and billing. It is somewhat long, and the opening sentence repeats the title, but most sentences carry useful information for an 11-parameter paid search tool.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given the rich schema, output schema, annotations, and payment context, the description provides enough for an agent to decide when to call it, how filters combine, what comes back, and how billing affects retries. Nothing critical appears missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the parameter-level semantics are already well documented. The description still adds important cross-parameter semantics by stating that several filters must be combined with council, suburb or postcode, which is not obvious from the schema alone.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description states a specific verb and resource ('Search NSW complying development certificates'), names the supported filters, and specifies ordering ('newest lodgement first'). It also distinguishes the result summary from the sibling full-record tool by directing agents to get_application.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It gives clear usage context, including the important rule that status, application_type, development_type and min_cost must be combined with council, suburb or postcode. It names get_application as the follow-up for full records, though it does not explicitly compare against the nearby-search sibling.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All NSW Planning Data (x402) tools Inspect

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