Data and accuracy — where the facts come from
Draftly's promise is simple: the facts you see are grounded in official sources, and anything that can't be verified is left out rather than guessed.
Planning facts
Your council, zone, overlays and controls come only from official government planning data. If a detail can't be verified from an official source, Draftly omits it — you'll never see a planning fact that was invented to fill a gap. Only fields verified from official data are shown; unverified details are left out, so confirm anything you need on your state's planning portal.
Coverage by state
Automatic planning data is verified for Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT. South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory are in manual-entry mode, where you enter the planning details yourself. If a field is blank in a covered state, it usually means that detail couldn't be verified automatically for your area.
Engineering figures
Structural figures in Draftly are indicative. They're a solid, standards- based starting point, but they are not a substitute for professional sign-off. Always confirm the design with your engineer or certifier before you lodge or build. See Structural design basics.
Aerial photos
The aerial photo you see on the siting map, on your results sheet, and on the plans Draftly produces is Esri World Imagery — a commercial satellite and aerial photo composite (credited on every map and sheet: "Source: Esri, Vantor, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community"). It is context, not a measurement source: your dimensions and setbacks come from the official government cadastre boundary, never traced off the photo. Photo age varies by area — check street level if you need to confirm something recent. If the imagery service is temporarily unavailable, Draftly tells you on the map and keeps retrying automatically rather than quietly leaving the photo out.
Why it's built this way
Being honest about what's verified is the whole point. A result you can trust is worth more than a result that looks complete but isn't. When something can't be confirmed, Draftly tells you rather than guessing — the same principle runs through every step.
If something looks wrong
If a planning fact doesn't match what you know about your site, check it on your state's official planning portal, and use the in-app help to let us know so we can look into it.