Once you have a planning approval in your hand for a small lot subdivision or development in Western Australia, you are not automatically ready to go to site and commence building. Your design has been assessed at the initial stage to make sure it meets planning controls to get a DA, but now it needs to be assessed to demonstrate that how it is “put together” meets all of the provisions of the NCC (national construction code) and the BCA (building codes of Australia), relevant to that class of building. This means a new set of more detailed designs needs to be prepared to demonstrate to the relevant permit authority that this is the case. The relevant permit Authority is the local government where your development or subdivision is being undertaken in WA.
To get the documentation together the “working drawings” phase needs to be undertaken, to demonstrate BCA/NCC compliance with important dwelling function and longevity aspects, such as energy efficiency, waterproofing, noise, and structural integrity, to name but a few things. This means now taking your DA set and working with an architect, engineers (civil, structural, HVAC, acoustic etc) and other consultants to complete the design to a final level of detail required for BCA/NCC assessment so it can get stamped by a suitably qualified Building Surveyor or assessor (either at local government, or from private industry) so it has a CDC (certificate of design compliance) and you can get a Build Permit. The document set includes collating:
- Detailed working drawings and cross sections of all internals and externals, including connections, roofing details, footings etc.
- Engineering drawings and details (electrical, HVAC, structural, civil/drainage)
- Electrical and hydraulic layouts (light fixture and fittings and hydraulic layouts)
- Materials selections, finishing schedules and specifications.
- Soil testing
- Energy efficiency reports
When you have collated all this, you have a choice to have the working drawing set and accompanying reports/documentation assessed by Building services at your local government, or to get a private industry Building Surveyor or Certifier to privately assess it and issue a CDC (Certificate of Design compliance) in readiness for a build permit application. If you choose the second route, your BP application is still made to local government, but with privately certified plans. The local government must then assess this and provide a determination within 10 days. This pathway can be faster for assessment and is preferred by most developers. All in all, the time take(certified your build permit documentation and get a build permit in hand is typically 3-4 months, but can be longer depending on design complexity , local government workload, BP lodgment process chosen ( certified or uncertified) and how long you take to sign off on things like selections and internal cabinet/lighting layouts with your builders design team!
For small lot infill subdivisions in WA, once you have your conditional planning approval in place you wont often need a build permit for any of the site works. You will typically only need a build permit if you are:
- Making modifications to an existing dwelling that is being retained (and a demolition permit if dwellings are being demolished)
- Need to install retaining internally or at boundaries over 500mm in height. This will need a sperate DA and Build Permit application, and neighbours consent forms (which can be lots and lots of fun).
All other site clearing, plumbing works, drainage installs, electrical work and driveway construction etc. can typically be managed without a build permit by respective trade professional.
You can learn more about approvals processes, planning, design and the Rcodes in our online books and courses.
To discuss subdivision and planning approvals in Western Australia and the best ways to develop a property, contact us and we can get in touch to discuss.
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