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
Building approvals process page 22 Note: for uncertified applications, the certificate of design compliance is obtained by the relevant permit authority after the application is submitted. Typical building approval sequence – Class 1 and...
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...
Furniture stability From a child’s point of view, your home looks like a big playground. But there are hidden dangers they don’t recognise. Unstable furniture can tip over when a child climbs or...
21 December 2017 Property manager fined after falling victim to a holiday accommodation scam (Vicki Redfern) A property manager has been reprimanded and fined $2,500 by the State Administrative...
24 November 2017 As summer approaches it’s time to consider if the pools and spas in rental properties conform to safety requirements. Pools and spas must be appropriately fenced according to the...
Building and Energy is inviting Western Australians to share their views on ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of home building approval processes. A public consultation launched today is seeking input from property owners, the building industry, local government and other stakeholders with an interest in home construction. Under WA’s current home building approval processes, a...
A Rivervale builder has been fined $1,000 for misleading conduct after understating a project’s value by two-thirds on insurance documents and a building permit application. Matteo Daqui (BC/BP 9459) was contracted to provide roofing, renovation and painting services at a Leeming home in June 2018. The final account for all the work was $106,718. However, an investigation by Building and Energy...
A Perth registered builder has had to pay almost $83,000 in penalties and has also received a caution for unauthorised work and building defects at a Swanbourne property. At its August 2019 meeting, the Building Services Board found that Theodoros Sartzidis (BP/BC12815) had been negligent under WA’s building registration laws after he carried out work that differed from approved plans and without...
The Building Services Board has fined Wangara building surveying contractor Constructive Building Consultants Pty Ltd (BSC2033) $2,500 and building surveyor Caillam Walter Bruyn (BSP2164) $1,000 after they signed off on a Toodyay community facility that did not meet construction requirements. In 2016, the Shire of Toodyay received a certificate of construction compliance for the newly built...
Major WA builder Dale Alcock Homes Pty Ltd (BC7309) and its nominated supervisor Dale Andrew Alcock (BP7184) have been fined a total of $10,000 in relation to a defective concrete slab that ultimately led to a decision to demolish and reconstruct a Woodvale house. The Building Services Board fined the company and Mr Alcock $5,000 each under WA’s building registration laws for failing to properly...
The Building Services Board has fined a South West builder $5,000 for negligent conduct after he was named on a building permit to construct a house in Yarloop, but allowed an unregistered third party to do the work. Michael Kenneth Cheeseman (BC101905, BP14081), a registered building contractor and building practitioner from Boyanup, was listed on the building permit and contract for the $83,000...
A Perth window company and its director have been fined a total of $65,000 for not complying with a Building Commissioner’s order to fix incorrect glass installed at a Mandurah home. Malaga-based Barrowman Holdings Pty Ltd , trading as Perth Window and Door Replacement Company , was contracted to supply and install tinted double-glazed windows and doors at the property at a cost of more than $19,...
On 30 July 2019, the McGowan Government announced a three-stage plan to improve the bush fire policy framework, including the Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas (the Map). The improvements will reduce the number of residential buildings required to comply with the bush fire construction requirements of the Building Code of Australia (BCA). Stage One will see a new edition of the Map come into effect on...
A Perth building company has been found to be negligent and fined $5,000 by the Building Services Board for winning a contract to renovate a chocolate store in Fremantle, but then failing to carry out or supervise the work. Ferhan Developments Pty Ltd (BC102155) of Queens Park and its sole director Chrishan Fernando won a $236,158 tender and were issued a building permit by the City of Fremantle...
A major Australian building company and its nominated supervisor have been fined a total of $32,000 after significant roof defects were discovered at two Perth homes. The State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) found that BGC Residential Pty Ltd (BC9769) and Thomas Edmund Starkey (BP14002) breached building registration laws by not properly managing and supervising a building service. In 2016, a...
