A person responsible for building or demolition work must ensure that the work does not affect land beyond the boundaries of the works land. However there may be the potential for this to occur in certain circumstances, for example where work is on small sized lots or where construction is close to...
Lodging the application Applications for building, demolition or occupancy permits or for building approval certificates can be submitted in a variety of ways, including in person, by post or electronic lodgement depending on the systems the relevant permit authority has in place. Under the...
Choosing the correct form To provide for consistency in building approvals throughout the state, all the relevant application forms, notices and compliance certificates are approved by the Building Commissioner and available on the Building and Energy website. Providing the correct application form...
In general a person must not carry out building work without a building permit where one is required. However the Building Act allows a person to make an application to the relevant permit authority to approve unauthorised building work in relation to a building and/or incidental structure. This...
Sometimes a building owner or occupier may wish to use the building for a purpose contrary to the approved use or classification of the building detailed on the current occupancy permit. The Building Act sets out the process for obtaining approval for either a change of classification or a change...
The Building Act contains certain provisions requiring prescribed information to be provided to the Fire and Emergency Services (FES) Commissioner. Building surveyor requirements (r. 18B) For certain Class 2 to Class 9 buildings, the building surveyor responsible for signing the certificate of...
The Building Act requires the responsible person (i.e. builder or demolition contractor) to provide certain notices for the completion or suspension of work under a building or demolition permit. Notice of cessation (s. 34) The person named as the builder or demolition contractor on a building or...
As part of its enforcement role, a permit authority can inspect building work and investigate Building Act compliance matters and, where relevant, issue infringement notices, building orders or commence prosecution for non-compliance. There are three types of permit authority: Local government For...
Building in designated bush fire prone areas In Western Australia, building work is required to comply with the performance requirements of the Building Code of Australia (the Building Code), which comprises Volumes One and Two of the National Construction Code Series. The Building Code contains...
Types of permits and their processes One: Building permit Two: Occupancy permit Three: Building approval certificate Four: Occupancy permit strata Five: Building approval certificate strata Six: Demolition permit One Building permit
Your home is usually your biggest investment, so it's worth doing your research before deciding who will undertake your building project. Undertaking a few practical checks at the start can help...
Propped open pool gates and faulty latches are a leading cause of drowning deaths in young children. It only takes seconds for a child to drown, so regularly check that the latch is working and never...
Research in Australia and overseas has found that workers fabricating benchtops from stone can be exposed to levels of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) which are hazardous to their health. The...
Will your child and your neighbours’ children be safe while your pool is under construction? Some types of pools need to be filled with water by the pool builder as part of the construction process...
Progress report This report is in response to recommendation 7 of the Ombudsman Western Australia (Ombudsman) report titled Investigation into ways to prevent or reduce deaths of children by drowning...
There are many types of portable pools, ranging from small plastic or inflatable paddling pools, specifically designed for young children, to larger more solid inflatable pools or flexible sided...
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety administers the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Regulations 2011. A series of reviews have been conducted to ensure...
Background This framework document has been devised to set out what might be considered ‘exceptional circumstances’ with reference to Regulation 16(3) of the Building Services (Complaint Resolution...
New regulations have come into effect which requires electricity to be switched off before people enter the roof space. To assist workers in notifying homeowners of the new regulations the WorkSafe...
New legislation will be coming into effect on 14 May 2018 which will require all workers performing work for reward at “domestic-type” premises, turn off all sources of electricity by opening the...
Electrical safety inspectors from Building and Energy are investigating an electric shock incident that resulted in the tragic death of a 50-year-old man last night. Emergency services and Western Power also responded to the incident, which occurred at the man’s home in The Vines at approximately 6.30pm yesterday (Monday 9 December 2019) . The man was found unresponsive near an outdoor spa pool...
A former building company director has been fined $40,000 in the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) for hiring a group of men to threaten and intimidate five clients in Perth’s western suburbs. Talbot James Le Page was also ordered to pay $2,000 in costs and declared ineligible to be an officer of a building contractor for the maximum period of three years. The SAT also ordered cancellation of...
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A mum whose 15-month-old drowned in an unfenced backyard pool has joined Consumer Protection and Royal Life Saving Society WA to launch a start-of-summer pool safety campaign. Royal Life Saving WA CEO, Peter Leaversuch, says the latest National Drowning Report has some tragic statistics: “Last year, there were 16 child drowning deaths and over 200 non-fatal drowning incidents recorded in swimming...
With Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard Did you know that currently when you build a home in Western Australia, such as a one or two storey house, there are no mandatory inspections during, or at the end of, construction? In a recent social media survey run on Consumer Protection’s Facebook page, 55% of respondents wrongly thought local government WAS required to carry out...
The Building Services Board has fined a Mount Pleasant building practitioner and his company $6,000 in total for starting construction of a two-storey house in Doubleview without the required home indemnity insurance (HII) or building permit. Compass Building Pty Ltd (BC33514, expired) was fined $3,500 for negligence under WA’s building registration laws. The company’s director and nominated...
A Wangara cabinetmaker has been fined $3,300 and ordered to pay more than $500 in costs after taking a deposit that was six times the maximum allowed. At Joondalup Magistrates Court earlier this month, Micheal Clinton Cockburn (who is also known by the spelling Michael) pleaded guilty to a breach of WA’s home building contract legislation following a prosecution by Building and Energy. The court...
A former building practitioner who provided false or misleading information in his registration application has been fined $2,500 by the Building Services Board and has voluntarily cancelled his registration. David James Shaw (BP102430, cancelled) was granted building practitioner registration in March 2017 after submitting an application that included information to support the criteria of...
WA’s building regulator is urging owner-builders to ensure they fully understand their obligations after a Perth man was fined $2,400 for selling his house without the necessary home indemnity insurance. At Joondalup Magistrates Court on 1 November 2019, Jonathon Robert Reardon pleaded guilty to an offence under WA’s home building contract laws following a prosecution by Building and Energy. The...
A registered gas fitter has been ordered to pay more than $10,000 for his potentially deadly connection of a natural gas cooker to a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply, which caused a fireball to erupt when the appliance was used. Following a prosecution by Building and Energy (formerly Energy Safety ), the gas fitter pleaded guilty at Perth Magistrates Court to two breaches of WA’s gas...
