About Building Permits
Building Permits are controlled by the Building Act & Building Regulations 2012, and required for nearly all buildings including, but not limited to:
- Construction or placement of a building
- Renovation, alteration or repair
- Site works, including changing ground levels in preparation for building work
- Residential dwellings, including additions
- Commercial buildings including fitouts and refurbishments
- Carports, sheds, garages and workshops
- Patios, verandas, decking and gazebos
- Swimming pools (below ground, above ground & inflatable) and spas
- Rainwater tanks greater than 5000 litres capacity
- Retaining Walls greater than 500mm in height
- Front fences (which must also comply with the Shires Fencing Local Law
Unless exempted by Schedule 4, Part 2, of the Building Regulations 2012
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Anyone can apply for a building permit including the owner, builder, architect or building surveyor. The applicant provides details of the person responsible for the work, i.e. the builder, in the application form. The builder takes responsibility for ensuring the construction complies with the applicable building standards and the requirements of the building permit.
The building commission website contains a lot of helpful information regarding building work, several are listed below:
There are two types of building permit applications 'certified' and 'uncertified' which are explained below:
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Certified Building Permit Application (Form BA1)
A certified application is provided by a private non-local government building surveying contractor & must be accompanied by a Certificate of Design Compliance. This type of application can be for any class of building and incidental structure and the shire, as the permit authority has 10 business days to determine the application.
Applications for Class 1b and Class 2 to Class 9 buildings (commercial) must be made as certified applications whereas this is optional for Class 1a and 10 buildings and incidental structures.
Note: Certification from a structural engineer is not to be confused with building certification, they are two separate disciplines.
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Uncertified Building permit Applications (Form BA2)
An uncertified application is submitted to the permit authority without a certificate of design compliance and can only be made for Class 1a and Class 10 buildings. The building surveyor employed by the permit authority (the Shire) checks the proposal and issues a certificate of design compliance and the building permit. The permit authority has 25 business days to determine an uncertified application.
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Building Classes
For information about the classes of buildings and structures, please visit the following link: https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/building-and-energy/building-classes. The class of your building/structure is important as part of identifying which type of application forms and information you require. Common building classes are as follows:
- Class 1a for Dwellings (Houses)
- Class 10a for Sheds, Carports, Garages, Patios, and similar structures
- Class 10b for Water Tanks, Retaining Walls, Fences, Swimming Pools, and similar structures
Refer to the above link for commercial building classes, and all other class details.
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Applying for a Building Permit
For the process on Lodging a Building Permit Application and all relevant forms and application documents, please click here.
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More Information
- Building Information Sheets - for water tanks, stormwater management, unauthorised structures, and more
- Building and Planning Contacts Guide - for a list of businesses and other services such as surveyors, draftpersons, soil and bushfire attack analysts, and more
- Click here for a link to the Building Commission for an official list of licensed building persons.