Commencing a New Project
Local laws
Councils in Victoria have local laws to ensure building
sites are safe, the community is not significantly
inconvenienced and council property is not damaged.
Local laws will normally cover such things as:
Storage of building materials and waste on the
paths, roads or nature strips
Fencing of the building site
Use of council rubbish bins
Mud and other waste going into the stormwater
systems
Times of the day when building work is allowed.
Before you begin any work, you must ensure that
you are fully aware of the local laws that apply in
your area. As you, the property owner, are ultimately
responsible for compliance with these laws, it is
essential that you ensure you are correctly informed.
Inspections
Inspections are an integral part of the permit process.
With new homes, for example, the building surveyor
will inspect your property:
Prior to the placement of footings
When the frame is up
Other times deemed necessary by your building
surveyor, and
When your building is ready to be occupied.
We will ring the building surveyor to arrange
these inspections. If they have not taken place, you may not be authorised to
occupy your building once the work is completed.
Sometimes your building surveyor will issue
instructions to your builder as a result of one of
these inspections. Any direction from your building
surveyor will be put in writing and your builder
must follow that advice. Sometimes a bank will
require evidence from a building surveyor about
building progress in order to release further
payments, in which case you should request a
written report following each inspection.
Occupancy permits
Once the building project is complete, the building
surveyor will undertake the final inspection and issue
either an occupancy permit or a certificate of final
inspection depending on the nature of the project. In
order to get this certificate or permit, you may need
to obtain certificates from tradesmen on the project,
such as:
A plumbing certificate
A glazing certificate
An electrical certificate
An insulation certificate
A termite certificate, if in a termite area.
It is essential that you obtain a copy of either the
occupancy permit or the certificate of final inspection
as this signifies that you can legally occupy the
building. You should retain this certificate in case you
are ever asked for it.
For more information please refer to the
