FAQ’s
Call us for expert advice and
accurate information.
What is a Building
Permit?
A Building Permit is written
permission from a registered building surveyor certifying that your
plans comply with the Building Regulations and Australian
Standards. The building surveyor is required to inspect the
building works. You must have this Permit before work can begin.
You must also have a demolition permit to demolish any
building.
When Are Building Permits
Required?
The Building Act 1993 requires a
building permit to be issued before a person can carry out building
work. It is probably easier to list the circumstances under which a
building permit is not required. Listed below are some of the
exemptions for obtaining a building permit. These include but are
not limited to -
• building used only temporarily
for the duration of building work for-
(i) construction purposes;
or
(ii) display
purposes
• any retaining wall less than 1m
in height which is not associated with other building work or with
protection work of an adjoining
allotment.
• building work to repair,
reconstruct or renew any part of an existing building, if the
work-
(i) is done for maintenance
purposes using similar materials to those being replaced;
and
(ii) is not underpinning or
replacement of footings; and
(iii) will not affect the
structural soundness of the building; and
(iv) Will not affect the safety of
the public or occupiers of the building.
• Alterations to a building (other
than a swimming pool) if the building
work-
(i) has a cost of less than $5000
(including the value of all labour and materials);
and
(ii) will not adversely affect the
structural soundness of any building; and
(iii) will not adversely affect
the safety of the public or occupiers of any building;
and
(iv) will not project beyond the
street alignment; and
(v) Is not demolition, removal or
re-erection of a building; and
(vi) is not work in relation to an
item listed in Table 11.2 of the Building Regulations which was
required by or under these Regulations or any corresponding
previous regulations to be provided in the building
and
(vii) is not work carried out on,
or in connection with, a building included on the Heritage Register
established under the Heritage Act 1995
and
(viii) will not involve
construction over an easement vested in the council or the
authority specified in Regulation 2.4 of the Building
Regulations.
What is a Planning
Permit?
A Planning Permit may be required
for any building work by the local council. This requirement may
vary depending on the properties zoning, overlays or vegetation or
heritage protection.
If a building design can comply
with the planning requirements it may not require a planning
permit. Obtaining a planning permit is often a lengthy process, but
sometimes unavoidable.
In many cases once the application
has been submitted to council the project will be advertised to
neighboring properties either by a sign erected at the front of the
property and/or letters sent.
What is the difference between a
Building designer and an Architect?
An architect is a person who has studied
architecture at university, has gained an architectural degree,
passed a professional examination and is registered with the
Architects Registration Board. At present, only a person registered
with the Board can call themselves an
architect.
A Building Designer or
Draftsperson should be registered as a Draftsperson – Building
Design (Architectural) and will carry Professional Indemnity
Insurance as required under the Act. Builders generally regard
Building Designers Construction Drawings as more user friendly. The
Building Designer will have completed an Associate Diploma or
Certificate of Technology in Architectural Drafting. A Building
Designer can provide the same services as an Architect. In fact 80%
of Building Approvals are prepared by Building Designers. Some
Architects use Building Designers to produce their Town Planning or
Construction drawings.
What is a Registered Building
Practitioner?
A registered Building Practitioner
includes the draftsman, Engineer, Building surveyor, Building
Inspector, Builder, Demolition contractor, carpenters, bricklayers,
concretors, etc..There are some contractors that are exempt from
being registered. A registered building practitioner will have
Professional Indemnity Insurance. It is an indication of their
experience and qualifications.
To check out a practitioners
registration visit www.buildingcommission.com.au
I have a sketch design from another
Architect or Building Designer?
If you have engaged an Architect
or Building Designer to provide you with a Sketch it does not
preclude you from going to another company to complete drawings for
Town Planning or Building Permit
application.
To avoid any copyright
infringement you will need to obtain the original architects /
Building Designers written Authority to allow us to reproduce his
design. This would also apply even if a planning permit has been
issued or the original designer’s account has been paid in
full.
What does it cost to have plans
prepared?
This will vary depending upon
extent of design work required, size of project, complexity of
project, If a town planning permit is required, extent of plan
documentation, changes made by client, extent of approvals required
from council or other regulatory authorities eg: Land in Bush fire
zones or in flood prone areas and Building
dispensations.
An initial meeting with one of our
Building designers will enable us to prepare a written fee proposal
indicating our fees and an estimate of additional costs that you
may incur.
What is a feature level
Survey?
Is a plan that shows the contours or
levels of the land and includes all features including fences,
trees, buildings, retaining walls and adjoining building
locations.
his plan is generally required by the
council and by our office before any design work takes
place.
What is a re-establishment
Survey?
Your fence may not necessarily be
your actual boundary. Existing fences may be located on the
Boundaries indicated on your Certificate of
Title.
A re-establishment survey should
be carried out by a licensed land surveyor to determine the exact
location of your boundary based on your title. Pegs will be located
at the corners of your property and the builder can use these to
set out your building. This is particularly important if your
building is on or close to a boundary, on a small block, or you are
unsure of your boundary location. We can organize a quote and
co-ordinate the land surveyor as part of our service.
What other costs might I
incur?
Other costs incurred in your project may
be through involvement of other consultants. Listed below are a few
–
- Land Surveyor
- Geo-technical
Engineer (soil report)
- Structural
Engineer
- Civil or Drainage
Engineer
- Bush-fire
Assessment Consultant
- Energy
Rating Consultant
- Landscape
designer
- Town
Planning Consultant
- Building
Surveyor
- Additional
Costs incurred could be for applications to various Council or
regulatory Authorities such as
- Town
Planning fees to local councils
- Council
Building Dispensation Fees
- Application
to build in a flood prone area
- Application
to Build over an Easement
- Septic
Tank Permit
- Fee
for searching for existing Plans from
council
- Registering
as an Owner Builder
- Building
and Demolition Permits
How many design changes can be made to
avoid copyright infringement?
The Copyright law prevents the
reproduction or copying of someone else’s building or plans without
the consent of the original designer.
Copying any part of another plan is not
permitted. There is no percentage or number of changes you can make
that will avoid copyright infringement. The best description I’ve
heard is that if you start a round object and turn it into a square
object, and it can be proved in court that you started with the
round object, you can be prosecuted for copyright
infringement.
The best solution is to have a house
designed specifically for your site. We can take into account land
topography, prevailing winds, sun position, adjoining buildings,
views, and local planning laws to achieve a custom house design
that suits your lifestyle.
What is property
information?
Includes information that relates to
your property obtained from a government
authority.
This information enables the building
designer and client to make decisions about the location,
construction and design of the proposed
building.
The water board will have information
that relates to location of the sewer main and its depth and size
and in some cases if it is located in a flood prone area. Special
permits are required to build within one metre of a sewer drain.
The council may also have information about whether a property is
in a flood prone area, a Termite area, Bush fire area, or an area
subject to snow loads and Town planning
requirements.
A copy of any existing plans held by the
council should also be sought for renovations and additions to
existing homes or buildings.
A copy of the title with the current
owner’s name and Plan of Subdivision is required before lodging for
a Planning or Building permit. Theses authorities charge a fee to
obtain this information. Mount Martha Drafting can obtain this
information on your behalf.
What is a Dispensation or report and
consent permit from the local council?
How much is construction going to
cost?
It is difficult to use a “per square
rate” to price the construction of a custom designed home. There
can be many variations from one home to an another including Land
slope, type of construction, variation in quality of fixtures and
cabinetry and complexity of the design. Some of our clients may
wish to Owner-Build their home to save costs. This adds another
degree of uncertainty to estimating cost.
At Mount Martha Drafting & Design we
would ask you to provide us with the maximum size of house you wish
us to design. We then encourage our clients to involve a registered
builder after a sketch has been prepared to provide a construction
cost estimate. This estimate is only a ball park figure but it will
help the client to decide whether to proceed with the design or
simplify the design brief. With some projects it may be advisable
to engage the services of a Building
estimator.
What is adverse
possession?
This is an old law that says, basically,
that where a trespasser (or neighbour) remains in possession of
land for a period of time (generally 15 years) then that person
acquires ownership of the land.
The law prevents someone who has used
land for a long period of time (believing it to be their land) from
losing the use of that land by someone who discovers where the
property boundary is.
A typical example is where a fence is
incorrectly placed inside the proper boundary of a property. The
properties on either side of the boundary may have been sold
numerous times before someone discovers the mistake. The owner of
the land that has "lost" because of the mistake, cannot now force
the owner of the land that has "gained" to move the fence back to
the original boundary. A land surveyor should be engaged to
determine accurate location of your boundaries prior to
construction and preferably prior to building
design.
How do i select or source a
Builder?
Once we have completed the design and
prepared plans the next step is to select a registered builder. You
have probably heard it before but you should never select a builder
because of the cheapest price. Your selection process should be
based upon a number of criteria.
- Workmanship. Have a look at
recent projects they have built.
- Level of experience. Is this builder
suited to renovations or new homes? How long has he been in
business?
- Is he/she registered? Check with the
Building Control Commission.
- How busy are they? If the builder
is flat out completing other projects chose another builder or
delay the project until the builder is freed up.
- Communication. If you feel
uncomfortable in the builder's presence or find you cannot chat
freely then do not engage that person to build your
home
As you might expect we are in contact
with various Builders in the course of our
business.
Mount Martha Drafting & Design do
not endorse any particular company but we can put you in contact
with local builders. It is up to the client to do their evaluation
based on the criteria above. Ensure you have completed drawings and
written specification before requesting a final
quote.
What do I need to do to be an
owner – builder?
You will be required to become
registered as an Owner-Builder
please refer the Building Control
Commision
"Owner Builder application
forms"
Call to discuss any of the questions
below or any others you may have.
What is a Covenant in relation to
my Title?
Can I build a unit/s on my
property?
What is a Geo-technical or soil test
report?
What is a protection
Notice?
Can I build over my
easement?
What is an estimator / Quantity
Surveyor?
What if my property is located in a bush
fire area?
What if my property is in a Flood prone
area?
What is a Septic Tank
Permit?
What is a Home Energy Rating
Report?
What is a Structural
Engineer?
What is a Civil
Engineer?
What is a
specification?
What happens if I have objections
from neighbors against my project?
When should I involve a builder in
my project? | 