Building Approval & Permits

Preliminary building permit assessments

Council provides a free service where owners or developers may submit a preliminary building assessment request. Any submitted request should provide plans showing the proposed location onsite, all other buildings on site and dimensions to these buildings and property boundaries. Plans should also show elevations of the work so that heights of the proposed work can be determined. Applicants are also advised to seek a similar free of charge planning preliminary assessment to ensure that the works do not also require separate planning approval.

Applying for a building permit

When preparing to lodge an application for a building permit, it is important to check that all the required forms are completed and signed.

Usually an application will consist of application ‘Form 2 Application for Building Permit’, ‘Form 3 Application for Plumbing Permit’, ‘Form 11A Certificate of Likely Compliance Building Work’ or ‘Form 11C Certificate of Likely Compliance Demolition Work’ and a copy of all the documents specified on the Certificate of Likely Compliance that the Building Surveyor has assessed. You must also provide an up-to-date copy of the Certificate of Titles.

Council officers will assess the information provided with an application and may require additional information or may refuse the application.

Prescribed application fees, building administration fee and other levies due must be paid prior to any assessment and approval. Council officers will send an invoice by email for payment. In many cases an Infrastructure Protection Bond may also apply and a form which is part of the invoice must be completed and returned to Council. The bond is required to ensure that Council infrastructure, assets and pavements etc. are not damaged during the construction work. A refund is provided to the payee after a ‘Form 20 – Certificate of Completion – Building Work’ is issued, provided no damage has occurred.

Building permit application lodgment

Your electronic application should be submitted in PDF format and contain all relevant documents including the application forms and TasWater certification where required.

You may provide your application by email to buildingandplumbing@ccc.tas.gov.au or CD, please note we will not accept applications on USB devices.

We continue to accept applications in physical format up to an A3 size. We do reserve the right to charge for applications submitted in larger paper sizes in accordance with our 2023 – 2024 Fee Schedule due to the additional administration time to complete this. Where paper applications are submitted, one copy of all of the relevant documents and application forms should be submitted for scanning.

Building permit application approval

Once the application has been assessed and approved, you will receive your building permit and endorsed plans by either email or as a CD, please indicate your preference on the application. We do not normally provide a stamped hard copy of the approved permit and documents. However, it you require a stamped hard copy, this can be arranged but it will incur an additional cost.

Please do not hesitate to call our building officers on 03 6217 9580 if you have any further enquiries.

Amending a building permit

During building works, often things change and owners, designers or builders may decide to amend the plans. When this occurs it may impact on previous approvals granted such as planning approval, or building and plumbing approval. Plans of the proposed change should be drawn by a suitably qualified person and given to a building surveyor to assess. The building surveyor will then determine if the proposed changes need to be referred to Council. Where plans are submitted to council by a building surveyor this will usually consist of an amended ‘Form 11A Certificate of Likely Compliance Building Work’ and certified plans. An amendment assessment fee is required to be paid as part of council’s reassessment of the application.

Appealing a building permit decision

The Building Act 2016 allows the Permit Authority (council) to refuse an application, to amend plans or specification in limited circumstances or to impose conditions on a permit that it considers appropriate and that relate to the permit work. An applicant may request to the Permit Authority in writing within seven days of the date of the permit issue or the date on a refusal notice to reconsider any refusal, amendment or condition on a permit. The Permit Authority will consider the request. If the applicant is not satisfied with the decision by the Permit Authority, they may make an appeal to the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal in accordance with s 276 of the Building Act 2016.

Extending a building permit

Building work must commence within 12 months of the date of the permit issue, otherwise the permit becomes invalid and an application for a new permit must be made. The building work must be completed within 24 months of the date of the permit issue unless otherwise specified. Where works are not complete within 24 months, an applicant must apply for an extension of time by completing ‘Form 76A Application for Extension Duration of Building Permit’, ‘Form 76B Application for Extension of Duration of Plumbing Permit’ or ‘Form 76C Application for Extension of Duration Demolition Permit’ as applicable. This application should be submitted at least five days prior to the expiry date of the building permit, be supported in writing by a building surveyor and be accompanied by the associated extension of time fee.

Finalising building permit work

At the completion of building work under a building permit, your building surveyor will need to issue a “Form 12 Certificate of Final Inspection – Building Work” or ‘Form 69 Certificate of Final Inspection – Demolition Work’. They will provide council with a copy of this certificate. Provided that all other associated works such as plumbing approval have also been completed, council will issue a Certificate of Completion and begin the process for a refund of the Infrastructure Protection Bond if applicable.

Illegal building works

Where building work has been undertaken without the required permits, there is a process to have this work made compliant. Council officers can investigate the previous approvals and certified plans for the property and undertake an inspection. The inspection may conclude that no further action is required, or it may lead to the issue of building notices and orders which may require the Owner to engage a building surveyor and an appropriately qualified person to draw up plans. An engineer may also be required to provide certification if structural elements have been incorporated into any unapproved works. If you think that the property you own may have had works undertaken without approval, please contact our building team on 03 6217 9580. Resolving works undertaken without the required permits earlier rather than later can be beneficial, because this can avoid later potential complications at the point of sale of the property.

Help and support

To assist the building trade and the home builder, council offices are open between 8.30am and 5.15pm for discussions in relation to:

• Building approvals and inspections
• Plumbing approvals and inspections
• Building and drainage plans
• Stormwater infiltration and soakage inspections
• Advice on requirements and regulations.

A full list of the approved Building Act 2016 Forms can be found on the Department of Justice website.

Council officers are happy to discuss or provide advice on any of the approved forms and may be contacted on 03 6217 9580 or by email at buildingandplumbing@ccc.tas.gov.au.