Permits
The 10 m² shed rule in Victoria, explained
How the 10 m² shed exemption works in Victoria — floor area, height, boundary distance, front of house, attachment — as a step-by-step check with three worked examples.
Short answer: a shed of 10 m² or less can be exempt from needing a building permit in Victoria, but only if it passes four more tests as well. Shed brochures quote the first number and skip the rest. This guide walks the tests in the order we check them, then runs three common sheds through them.
The rule sits in Schedule 3 of the Building Regulations 2018. It exempts a small, freestanding Class 10a building — a shed, a garden store, a similar non-habitable structure — from needing a building permit when every condition is met at once. Miss one and the shed needs a permit, whatever the others say. If you would rather skip the reading, our shed and garage permits page explains the free check.
Step 1: Floor area
Is the floor area 10 m² or less? A 3 m × 3 m shed is 9 m² and inside the limit. A 3 m × 4 m shed is 12 m² and needs a permit, regardless of anything else. Use the kit’s actual floor dimensions, not a rounded brochure size. Over 10 m²: permit. Under: go to step 2.
Step 2: Height
Is the shed no more than 3 m high — and, where any part of it is within 1 m of a boundary, no more than 2.4 m? Those are the key thresholds.The lower one catches people: a standard gable garden shed next to the fence can pass 2.4 m at the ridge. Over: permit. Under: step 3.
Step 3: Distance to the boundary
The height test and the boundary test work together: a metre or more off every boundary buys you the full 3 m; in the corner, the limit is 2.4 m. Either way the exemption only decides whether you need a permit. An exempt shed is also outside the siting provisions — the exemption carries its own height and boundary conditions instead. Three things still apply: a planning permit where the zone or an overlay requires one; the consent of the service authority to build over an easement or within 1 m of its works; and the estate’s building envelope where one is registered on title. Clear: step 4.
Step 4: Forward of the front wall
Is any part of the shed in front of the front wall of the house? A shed forward of the front wall is generally not exempt, even at 6 m². On a block with no house on it the test is different — the key thresholds are a 9 m setback from the front street and 2 m from any side street, and the shed must be the only Class 10a building on the lot.Behind it: step 5.
Step 5: Freestanding or attached
Attach the shed to the house or the garage and it is no longer a freestanding shed — it is an addition to the house, and it needs a permit at any size. The same rule catches attached carports and verandahs; carports have their own page. Freestanding, and built from something other than masonry: the shed is exempt from needing a building permit. Everything else: permit.
Three sheds, worked through
A 3 m × 3 m garden shed, 2.1 m high, in the back corner against two fences. Nine square metres, under 2.4 m even within a metre of the boundary, behind the house, freestanding. Exempt — just keep the downpipe and the roof water on your side of the fence.
A 3 m × 4 m gable workshop, 2.6 m to the ridge, a metre off the side fence. Twelve square metres: it fails at step 1, and would fail step 2 as well if it moved closer to the fence. Permit.
A 6 m × 6 m garage on an estate lot. Thirty-six square metres; the exemption was never in the picture. Permit, plus a check that it sits inside the building envelope on title, and the estate’s own design approval before the permit application goes in.
What to send us
You do not need a permit to ask whether you need a permit: send the supplier’s spec sheet or engineering drawings, a site plan or marked-up aerial photo showing the shed against the boundaries and the house, and the property address. We tell you for free whether it needs a permit and whether the siting works, and if it does need one we quote a fixed fee.
What happens if you skip it
A shed that needed a permit and did not get one becomes a problem when you sell or refinance, and council can require it to be fixed or removed. Sorting it out afterwards always costs more than a free check before the slab is poured.
Buying or selling a house with a shed? Ask for the building permit and the certificate of final inspection for any shed past the exemption; a shed with neither becomes the new owner’s problem after settlement.
Ready to check your shed? See our shed and garage building permits page for what is involved, or send the details through the quote form and we will come back to you within one business day.
Suppliers and installers: you can link your customers to this page, or send their drawings to us direct — see our page for builders and suppliers.