A common misconception is that a planning permit is a building permit and vice versa. They’re very different permissions and the authority is from two separate parties.
A planning permit always comes first but isn’t always required. Whereas a building permit is usually always required. It can be from council but they are mostly from private registered building surveyors.
These processes vary from state to state, however this is focusing on the Victorian planning and building permit process.
We thought the easiest way to highlight the differences is to look at the process from start to finish. The first step is to get
planning advice
from your local council.
Bushfire prone properties are parcels of land that have been identified as being prone or subject to bushfire attacks by the governments planning authority.
The proximity to bushfire prone vegetation as well as other factors determine whether or not the land is considered to be bushfire prone.
You can obtain written planning advice or you may be able to get an answer over the phone from the local council. Most councils will give you a simple yes or no and some conditions. We always recommend to our clients to obtain written planning advice. Why? Let’s say you speak to Suzie the Council Town Planner and she verbally tells you that you don’t need a planning permit. Then a year passes and Suzie no longer works there. No one remembers Suzie or has a record of speaking with you a year ago so it’s your word against theirs.
But, if you asked for written planning advice, you can always feel secure that the council has deemed it okay to proceed. You may also be asked for written planning advice by the building surveyor when you apply for your building permit down the track. We suggest getting it in writing early, because planning advice can take 2 weeks to come back from council.
If the planning advice says a planning permit is not required, you can move onto organising the building permit. More on that later!
- Construction of or renovating a building
- New use of land – particularly if it impacts on car parking
- Subdividing land
- Clearing vegetation
- Altering heritage of a property
The Planning Permit process is operated by the council and checks the proposal against the local planning scheme and the State’s planning legislation. Things that are taken into account are the loss of privacy, traffic issues, neighbouring properties and impacts on the environment. The permit application can also be reviewed and disputed by neighbours which is all taken into account by councils.
Local councils play a major role in decision making when it comes to planning decisions and enforcing the planning scheme. It’s their responsibility to ensure there’s no detrimental effects to their municipality or to the environment.
To apply, you’ll need to have a copy of the architectural plans, the property information, insurances, building contract, engineering, land title and more. Once you’ve got all of those things ready you can provide them to the building surveyor. They’ll review all of the documents you provide again the Building Act, Building Regulations and National Code before they issue the building permit. Bare in mind the planning permit still has a lot of power at this stage. If you need to make any changes to the plans they need to go back through council, so it can be a tedious process.
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