Unauthorised Building Work

It is an offence under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, to undertake building work without first having obtained a building licence from the Local Government. A breach of this requirement carries a penalty of up to $50,000 and a daily penalty of $5,000 for each day the offence occurs.

An amendment to the Act which came into effect on 1 July 2008 now provides the ability for an owner to make application for a “Building Approval Certificate” in respect to unauthorised building work. This application requires similar but perhaps more specific documentary evidence than a normal building application. The benefit of this new legislation is that the Local Government can now efficiently deal with unauthorised building work where in the past Local Governments have not had the legal capacities. This now in particular will help those owners who were really unaware that they had bought a property with an unauthorised structure on it.

• Information sheet - Building Approval Certificate (PDF 68kB)
• Application form for Building Approval Certificate (PDF 101kB)
• Building Services Fees and Charges (PDF 71kB)