New Home Building Permits — Melbourne & Victoria

A new home is the permit with the most moving parts: drawings, 7-star energy rating report, soil report, engineering, siting, sometimes a planning permit, then a run of inspections before anyone can move in. One surveyor should hold all of it from the first drawing to the occupancy permit. At Cornerstone, one registered building surveyor does.

Cornerstone is a building surveying practice issuing permits across Melbourne and all of Victoria. We handle building permits, mandatory inspections and occupancy permits for single homes, dual occupancies and townhouses — for builders running a dozen jobs and for first-time owner-builders. New homes are one part of the work: we take on every class of building work, residential, commercial and industrial, from extensions, sheds and retaining walls to warehouses, offices and shop fit-outs. Fixed fee, quoted up front.

When you need a permit

Every new dwelling in Victoria needs a building permit before work starts — no exemption, no size threshold. Under the Building Act 1993 and the Building Regulations 2018 the permit is issued by a registered building surveyor appointed by the owner, and the assessment covers the whole package, not just the floor plan.

The permit package

• Architectural drawings — site plan, floor plans, elevations, sections, window and door schedule.
• 7-star energy rating report — since 1 May 2024 new homes in Victoria must meet the NCC 2022 energy provisions: a 7-star energy rating plus a whole-of-home energy budget. The report must match the drawings.
• Soil report and engineering — the soil report sets the site class, and the slab and footings are designed to it; the engineer certifies slab, footings, beams, bracing and tie-down. Reactive clay is common across the growth corridors.
• Siting — Part 5 of the Regulations sets setbacks, site coverage, walls on boundaries, overshadowing and overlooking. Where the design doesn’t comply, council’s report and consent is needed first.
• Planning permit — where the lot sits under an overlay (heritage, bushfire management, design and development, flooding) or more than one dwelling is proposed, a planning permit usually comes first and the building permit must match the endorsed plans. Lots in a designated bushfire prone area also need a bushfire attack level (BAL) assessment.

Builders and owner-builders

For a registered builder the package is routine: one point of contact, missing items asked for once, the frame inspected when it’s ready. For an owner-builder the rules are the same but the responsibilities land on you. Domestic building work above the value threshold set under the Building Act needs a certificate of consent from the Building and Plumbing Commission (formerly the VBA) before the building permit can be issued, and you must notify us at each inspection stage.

Dual occupancies and townhouses

Two or more dwellings on one lot almost always need a planning permit first. Walls on boundaries bring in fire separation under the NCC and can trigger protection work notices to the neighbour. An occupancy permit can cover the whole building or part of it, so the dwellings can be signed off together or one at a time — but no dwelling can be occupied until an occupancy permit covers it.

Inspections and the occupancy permit

Mandatory inspections happen at set stages during the build, and the builder or owner-builder must notify us before each one so we can inspect before the work is covered up. The inspections depend on the job — they are confirmed when we quote. Once the final inspection is done and the certificates are in — which certificates depends on the job; we tell you what’s needed when we quote — we issue the occupancy permit. A new home can’t be occupied without one, and it’s the document a bank or buyer asks for.

What we need from you

The package above, plus the title, the planning permit and endorsed plans where one applies, the builder’s registration and insurance details or the owner-builder certificate of consent, and council’s legal point of discharge for stormwater. Not sure what you have? Send the drawings and the address and we’ll list what’s missing, once.

What it costs

New home permits are quoted as a fixed fee covering assessment, the building permit, every mandatory inspection and the occupancy permit. Builders get the same fee job after job, so it goes straight into the contract. No hourly rates, no surprises at final.

Things that catch people out

• Permit dates. Under the Building Regulations 2018 a house permit lapses if work hasn’t started within 12 months of the date of issue, or isn’t finished within 24 months of it. An extension can only be granted if you apply before the date passes, so ask early, not after.
• Appointing the surveyor late. The owner appoints the building surveyor. Get it signed before the builder orders the slab, not the week the pour is booked.
• Knocking down first? The demolition is its own building permit with council’s Section 29A consent, and we usually issue it first so the site is clear while the new-home package is finished — see demolition permits. Starting with a knock-down rebuild? Our step-by-step guide covers the order.