When do I need a building permit?

Sunset through roof trusses on a house under construction

In brief, you will need a building permit when you are building:

  • Any shed or carport over 10sqm.  (Including Farm Sheds)
  • Any extension to a dwelling, including verandah, outdoor area or deck Any pool or Spa regardless of whether they are above ground, blow up, or have a lockable lid.
  • Pergolas are only called pergolas if they are unroofed and need a building permit when they are open and over 20sqm
  • Retaining walls of any height on a boundary or over a metre high within a property.
  • Change of Use: If someone wants to live in a shed, a dairy, a church or perhaps even a shop we may need to “change the use of the building”.  We need to ensure that it has the items that we require of a dwelling
  • We do not usually need a building permit for a fence (unless very high) or watertanks. (See fact sheet for more information)
  • Tiny Houses/Shipping Container Houses/ Hemp Houses/ Mud Brick/Straw Bale. You will need to prove that they are engineered and designed to Australian Standards.

When we can't issue a permit:

  • You can't live in a shed (or shipping container) without it being passed as a dwelling
  • You can't live in anything temporarily while you build your house
  • You can't have a shed before your house is built
  • We can’t issue a permit after something is built – we need to issue a building notice and they need to prove that the build was done in accordance with Building Code of Australia.

Fact Sheet - Do I need a Building Permit?

 

 

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