Yes, Councils are p*ssed off. not so much about the fees, but they lose control and the will now cop the brunt of a disgruntled neighbours. (there are no obligations to formally notify neighbours - you only need to 'inform' your immediate neighbours 2 days after the CDC is issued).
Professionally i have been very interested in this, personally, it affects me directly. I am building a house that complies with the design principles of the Code - ticks all the boxes....however, my land is in a subdivision on land that was formally bushfire prone and flood prone. Nothing to worry about now as the issues related to these were resolved as part of the DA for the original subdivision.
The problem ****** in the fact that as part of the Housing COde the first step you are required to do is apply for aS149 Planning Certificate. As the COuncil maps for bushfire prone land and flood prone land haven't been updated, neither has the information that is included on the 149 certificate - ergo - i am unable to apply for a CDC! CDC applications are not permited for land that is affected by bushfire, flooding, heritage etc. etc.
The NSW Housing Code is great and theory and a step in the right direction, but i can pessimistically see councils not so much as trying to block the CDCs, but making it difficult for properties to be able to complient with the requirements.
SO if you're looking at a CDC, check your 149, make sure your land is relatively unencumbered, and then look at the house design.
Very interesting point, my land used to be flood prone until they increased all of the land in the area above the flood plain. I was hoping to go through CDC but I might try to get the builder to check with their concil contacts first (they've already contacted them about a few things)