SHIRE APPLICATION PROCESS
The process for obtaining a building license is a simple one but it is very long and drawn out. The particular shire your block falls within is also a factor since different councils deal with applications differently. Simply put, this is the process.
1. DESIGN
A design needs to be finalised before any set of drawings can be submitted to council. The design must meet not only the R-Codes, but any shire specific requirements, and/or any design guidlines within a particular precinct. In short not all applications can be treated the same.
2. COUNTOUR SITE SURVEY
Obtain a countour site survey. Depending on the block of land you intend to build on will depend on the price of the contour survey. For instance if it is a vacant clear leveled block, expect to pay around $250. If there is an existing house with a lot of shrubs & trees etc then expect to pay up to or around $1,000. The contour servey is required for both the planning application and the building license. Shire approval will not be given without it.
3. PLANNING APPLICATION
Once a countour survey has been obtained, we can then draw up all the relevent plans. It generally consists of a basic set of drawings but demonstrates that it complies with all shire requirements. The planning application currently must be lodged and processed through the relevant shire your property falls within. This process can take from 2 months minimum up to 12 months. Generally we find an average of 3 months is a good guide.
4. BUILDING LICENSE
Once a planning application (Design Approval) has been granted you can then proceed to the next phase, that is the Building License. This is a more detailed set of plans and consists of full construction drawings. The only items that do not need to be submitted are the room layouts, this can be done at a later stage. An electrical plan now must be finalised with the introduction of the 6 Star Rating. As outlined in 'Energy Efficiency', an accredited assessor must certify the plans stating it complies with 6 Stars and is lodged with your building license application. The lodgement can be handled 2 ways, Certified and Uncertified. Certified means it goes through an independant building surveyor and has no direct relationship with the shire. All fees are paid to the building surveyors and an approval is given based on the plans matching the planning drawings along with any BCA (Building Codes of Australia) items. Once the independant serveyor approve the plans it is then lodged with the shire. So the building surveyor approves it, but the shire still issues the building license, not the building surveyor. Generally the building license is obtained within 10 working days. This has become the standard way of doing it and we have found it is more of a hassle free way of doing things. Uncertified is the same process, only the application is lodged and handled by the particular council you are in. This process does take longer and can lead to unecessary hold ups.
5. You can now start building.