Building Services » Boyup Brook

Building Approvals

A building permit is required for any building work involving the development of new structures, alterations or extensions and changes in ground levels including garages, patios, sheds, residential dwellings, granny flats, extensions, swimming pools and retaining walls etc. Similarly a demolition permit is required before any demolition works can commence. If the total value of work exceeds $20,000 a permit can only be issued to a registered builder or registered owner builder.

Information packs outlining requirements are available from the administration office and in our document centre on this website.

Applying for a Building Permit

Anyone can apply for a building permit, the owner, builder, designer, building surveyor or any other person. The applicant provides details of the person responsible for the work, ie the builder, in the application form. The builder takes responsibility for ensuring the construction complies with the applicable building standards and the provisions in the building permit. There are two types of building permit applications, “certified” and “uncertified” both must be submitted with required information and fees.

Certified Application

A certified application is accompanied by a certificate of design compliance, issued by a Private Building Surveyor, and can be made for any class of building and incidental structure. The Shire has 10 business days to decide on a certified application.

Applications for Class 1b and Class 2 to Class 9 buildings must be made as certified applications whereas this is optional for Class 1a and 10 buildings and incidental structures.

Uncertified Application

An uncertified application is submitted to the Shire without a certificate of design compliance and can only be made for Class 1a and Class 10 buildings and incidental structures.

The Building Surveyor at the Shire will check the proposal and provide a certificate of design compliance. The Shire has 25 business days to decide on an uncertified application.

If the proposed building works involve wastewater disposal (septic tanks and leach drains) an "Application to Construct or Install an Apparatus for the Treatment of Sewage" form must be completed and submitted to the Shire with the Building Permit application. Forms are available from the shire administration office or from the Department of Health website. Refer to the Septic Tank Specification Info Pack number 2 in the Document Centre for more information.

Prior to submitting a building application you may also be required to seek planning approval from the Council before commencing your development. At the beginning of the process of examining plans and other documents for the building approval, the proposal must first be cleared as complying with the Shire of Boyup Brook Local Planning Scheme No.2. A single dwelling and ancillary non-habitable buildings are "permitted" in all zones Unless the proposal departs from the requirements of the Scheme/and/or the Residential Design Codes (e.g. reduced setbacks), separate development is not required. However, if the proposal does not comply with the Scheme and/or the Residential Design Codes, separate development approval must be obtained before a Building Permit can be issued. For more information visit Town Planning under the Services tab or contact the Shire Office.

If your property is in a declared bushfire prone area, dependant on type (class) of building, your building permit application is required to be accompanied by a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) report. If you put your address in the website link below you should be able to see if that will be required or not: https://maps.slip.wa.gov.au/landgate/bushfireprone/

For more information visit - https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/building-commission/building-designated-bush-fire-prone-areas.

If your property is in a declared bushfire prone area the Shire of Boyup Brook will only accept a report issued by a BPAD accredited assessor. For a list of accredited practitioners visit http://connect.fpaa.com.au/Connect/Registers/BPAD_register.aspx scroll down to WA and sort by location.

There is a comprehensive Guide to the building approvals process on the WA Department of Commerce – WA Building Commission website.

If you require further information please contact the administration office 9765 1200.

Building application forms can be downloaded from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety website.