The Process of Obtaining a Building Permit in Western Australia

This research paper provides a detailed analysis of the process of obtaining a Building Permit in Western Australia. It covers the required documentation, including plans, Certificate of Design Compliance, and the National Construction Code. The paper outlines the application steps, differentiating between certified and uncertified applications, and identifies key stakeholders such as the Permit Authority, Local Government, and Registered Building Surveyors. It also explores the required inputs, such as understanding Building Acts and Regulations, and the expected outcome, which is the issuance of the Building Permit after compliance verification. The paper concludes by emphasizing the mandatory nature of the Building Permit before construction and provides a comprehensive overview of the process, from initial application to final approval.

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THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING BUILDING PERMIT IN WEST AUSTRALIA
A Research Paper on Permit By
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INTRODUCTION
This essay discusses the process in the owner of the proposed vacant lot can obtain a
Building Permit in WA by focusing on the required outcomes and inputs, the stakeholders,
application steps, and documentation. The Building Permits deals with the actual fire safety,
structural, and other technical issues relating to the safety and health of the individuals in and
around the building. The Building Permit is mandatory before any work of construction can
be undertaken and can be acquired from a permit authority for the region in which the
construction will take place.
Documentation
This section illustrates all the documentation that is required by the owner of the
project when seeking a Building Permit in West Australia. Some of the documentation that
the owner of the owner should have include support information, technical certificates,
structural details, specifications, and plans (Board 2014). The following are the
documentation that should be submitted to the Permit Authority:
Plan: This document shows the details of the building which is to be constructed. Some of
the details that may be present in a plan include structural details, support information, and
specification of the building.
Certificate of Design Compliance: The applicant of building permit must have a certificate of
design compliance. This document must be signed by a building surveyor that is registered
and proves that the construction will comply with every standard of a building that applies to
it. This document can be given by either the building surveying contractor that is registered in
case the building surveyor is employed by the contractor or a local government in case the
building surveyor that is registered is employed by the local government (Dept, Official Year
Book of Western Australia 2011).

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National Construction Code: The Building Code of Australia is made up of Volumes Two
and One of the Plumbing Code of Australia and Building Code of Australia. This document
addresses amenity, health, fire safety, and structural issues in the building. Some of the
features of the Building Code of Australia include provides a clear endpoint to a process of
construction, takes risks, retains the options of the owner to use the current certifications of
the Local Government, introduces streamlined and separate processes for commercial and
domestic buildings approval, enables private registered building surveyors to certify
compliance of design, nominates Permit Authorities, and covers all constructions (Australia
2013).
Application Steps
The steps of application for Building Permit depend on whether the specific state
accepts the Design Compliance Certificate to be issued through private building surveyors
that are registered, there are two ways of making application for Building Permit in case the
particular state does not accept private certificates then only the second method will apply
(Glass 2014).
Certified Application
In this method of application, the documents are surrender to the Permit Authority
together with Design Compliance Certificate from the Building Surveyor that is registered.
This certificate certifies to the Permit Authority that the specifications and plans of the
building conform to the Australian Building Code and other laws that are related to it. The
Permit Authority does not have to conform that the plans comply with the Code since the
submission comes with the Certificate of Design Compliance. The Permit Authority will then
have a given duration to issue the Permit which can be ten days (Kerr 2015).
Uncertified Application

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This types of application of Compliance is the same as the Building Licence
application under the previous legislation before private certification where specifications and
plans are submitted to the Local Government that will review the documents and then make
the decision in case they attain the Building Code requirements as well as other laws. When
the application of Permit is done using this method without Design and Compliance
Certificate, the Permit Authority may provide a documentation review and issue the
Certificate of Design. There will be need to make a decision between Permit Authority and
owner on the fee to be issued (McGrath 2011).
Stakeholders
The major stakeholder in the application of Building Permit is the Permit Authority
who is responsible for providing all permits, remaining with records, and have the
responsibility of ensuring that constructions in its locality comply with the minimum standard
required. The three forms of permit authorities include State by Ministerial approval, Special
Permit Authority by Ministerial approval, and Local Government (Regions 2012).
Local Government
The local Government plays an important role in ensuring that the building
developments and building industry are regulated. After the landowner have made a design of
the building and ensured that it complies with the Building Code of Australia, the approved
design will then be submitted to the Local Government which is the Permit Authority. The
Local Government will then be required to provide the Building Permit within a given
duration. The work of Local Government in Building Control include issue Occupancy
Permit, undertake building inspection under construction, and issuing Building Permits for
Uncertified and certified specifications and plans.

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Other roles of the Local Government varies according to a particular state, but
normally include planning and development approval, building services such as licensing,
community services such as welfare services, health services such as water inspection,
provision of recreational facilities such as parks, and infrastructure and property services such
as waste management and collection (Glass 2014).
Registered Building Surveyor
A building surveyor is a private certifier that is engaged in privately issuing
certificates required, inspection of building work and assessing documentation. A municipal
Building Surveyor carries out duties as a Permit Authority and delivers similar services as the
independent certifier on behalf of permit authority and also may have an implementation role.
Under the existing Act, an accredited building surveyor are supposed to be registered in
either of the three classes of building surveying practitioner. These classes include Building
and surveying practitioner technician, Building surveying practitioner level 2, and Building
surveying practitioner level1 (Statistics. 2014).
Required Inputs
There is the need for the owner to have all the required documentation before submitting
them to the Permit Authority. These documentations include support information, technical
certificates, structural details, specifications, and plans. A good construction manager should
effectively communicate with regulators to attain satisfactory and timely results. The owner
should also understand all the Building Acts and Building Regulations so as to ensure that the
design is of the acceptable standard before submitting it to the Registered Building Surveyor.
It is also important for the owner to know the structure, roles and responsibilities of the Local
Government in the area (C. B. Statistics 2014).
Outcome

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After the Permit Authority has received the Certificate of Design Compliance which proves
that the specifications and plans of the building conform to the Building Code of Australia
and other laws that are applicable, the Permit Authority will then have a duration of
approximately days to issue the Building Permit. After the client has obtained the Building
Permit, he will have to seek Planning Consent from the Local Authority before he could
begin the construction works. Planning Consent and Building Permit are two approvals which
deal with different issues and are administered by different sections of Local Government
(Regions 2012).
Conclusion
A Building Permit is mandatory before any construction activities can be undertaken and can
be acquired from the Permit Authority for the region in which the construction will take
place. The documentation that is required by the Local Government (Permit Authority) when
seeking Building Permit include support information, technical certificates like Certificate of
Design Compliance, structural details, specifications, and plans.

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References
Australia, Department of Western. 2013. Statistical Register of Western Australia. Peth: Government
Statistician's Office.
Board, Australian Building Codes. 2014. Building Code of Australia. City of Fremantle: SAIGlobal.
Dept, Western Australia. Registry. 2011. Official Year Book of Western Australia. Albany: The
University of California.
Glass, J. 2014. A Survey of Building Materials Used in House Construction in Western Australia. Perth:
Forests Department of Western Australia.
Kerr, Alex. 2015. The south-west region of Western Australia. Mandurah: University of Western
Australia Press.
McGrath, F. 2011. The Building Surveyor. Perth: Trust Publication.
Regions, Department of Local Government and. 2012. Local Government Maps. Northern Territory:
http://www.localgovernment.nt.gov.au/home/shire_boundaries.
Statistics, Australian Bureau of. 2011. Population and Growth. Canberra: Regional Statistics.
Statistics, Commonwealth Bureau of Census and. 2014. Statistics of Western Australia: Building and
housing. Bunbury: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Western Australian Office,
Statistics., Commonwealth Bureau of Census and. 2014. Statistical Register of Western Australia.
Broome: W.A. Watson, Government Printer.