Building permit requirements and penalties if failing to comply

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The building industry in Australia is carefully regulated through a wide range of permits, certificates, and permissions. These ensure that projects are safe, the building work is done to a high standard, and other elements like accessibility are met. Building permits make sure that every project adheres to the correct building codes and regulations.

But what happens if a project does not comply with building permit requirements?

A building permit is an official document that is issued by a licensed building surveyor. To obtain one, an application must be submitted with all of the required project drawings, documents and necessary information. A private or council building surveyor will assess the application and then issue a building permit, or request further information. The building permit must be obtained before building work can be started, otherwise there may be penalties.

A building permit is generally required for all building work. This includes, but is not limited to:

If any of these activities are carried out without a building permit, penalties may be imposed on the builder, owner, or developer (or all three!).

There is a range of actions and penalties that may take place if work fails to comply with the requirements set out in the building permit.

If work is found to be non-compliant during an inspection, a building surveyor will issue a building notice. The client is then permitted to respond to the notice and provide an explanation about why the work is or may be compliant. This is called 'to show cause'.

When non-compliant work is found to be an imminent health and safety threat, a building surveyor may issue an emergency order. An example of this is a building with a roof that may not be correctly supported and is therefore at risk of collapse. An emergency order aims to prevent harm. There are often more serious penalties for this kind of non-compliance.

If the builder or owners' efforts to show cause fail, they may be ordered to remove all of the non-compliant work that has been completed. This will be done at their own expense and can be a serious financial hit to a project of any size. This is just one of the reasons why the proper building permits must be obtained before any building work commences.

Non-compliant building work and refusal to comply with building orders may result in fines of varying amounts, determined by the number of penalty units. If a building order or an emergency order is not complied with, the builder, owner or developer (whichever is liable) may receive fines up to $96,155 (or 500 penalty units) for a person, or $482,775 (or 2500 penalty units) for the body corporate. This is stipulated by section 118 of The Building Act.

Legal action may also be taken by building authorities against owners or builders who remain non-compliant. This depends on the severity of the non-compliant work, whether there are ongoing disputes as well as a range of other factors. The type of action that may take place can include civil lawsuits and injunctions.

If a building does not have the correct permits, there may be restrictions on the number of people that are permitted to be in the building at once. Restrictions might also apply to the manner in which the building is to be used, likely affecting future business prospects. And once non-compliance has been identified it becomes much more difficult to get retroactive building permits.

Therefore, it's clear that all building work should remain compliant with the requirements of the building permit that was issued. If it doesn't, your entire project could be on the line, you may face hefty fines, and even legal action.