Occupancy certificate or certificate of final inspection (renovation).
All the below applicable certificates are required to be collected and provided to all future owners (and lodged with the local council's municipal building surveyor) for ten years as per Federal and State legislation. Certificates of compliance must comply with Section 238 part 24 of the Building Act.
- Engineering of strucutral elements, e.g. slab, retaining wall, etc
- Plumbing certificates (221ZH as per Act 44), e.g. roofing, water supply, sewage, gas install, water tank, solar hot water, etc.
- Wet area waterproofing, bathrooms, bathroom, balconies, kitchens, etc.
- Electrician certificates
- Fire safety: smoke detectors, fire rated boundary wall manufacturer certificates, etc.
- Bushfire Assessment Level and mitigations, e.g. wall wetting sprinklers, fire shutters, etc.
- Geotechnical reports, soil rating, etc.
- Septic/effluent tank council approval
- Termite protection
- Glazing certifciates from manufacturer AS1288
- Insulation for floors, walls and roof with R & U values.
- Surveyor certificate
- Energy efficiency certificate, e.g. BASIX, NaTHERS
- Written confirmation of completed contract from any builder and/or tradie with an ABN
- Landscape completion certificate, e.g. permaculature, leech fields, etc.
- Section 73 covenant certificate
- Hydraulic engineer and/or plumber re effluent systems
- Demolition certificates, e.g. asbestos removal, etc.
- Final sign-off by architect re completed schematic drawing for submission to council
- Outstanding fees, e.g. additional inspections, building order/notive, final build cost
- Insurance if you plan to sell within six years of occupancy, i.e. As per the Domenstic Building Contracts Act 1995 and Building Act 1993 warranties building works up to 10 years from completion of the work, requires a 'defects inspection report'.
- Owner-builder final sign-off of work, copmpliance certifciates and building maitenance (ESM) manual
- roof drainage connected to approved 'point of discharge'
- required safety systems, e.g. handrails, etc.
- stair construction, e.g. rise/run
- glazing meet human impact, structural and weather resistance provisions
- sanitary facilities and wet areas meet code
- building is water/weather tight, i.e. all opening penetrations have been sealed
- smoke detection and alarm systems are correctly placed
- energy efficiency report requirements are complete
- power connected including mechanical ventilation, hard wired smoke slarms, artificial lighting, etc.
- gas cooking pipework installed
- water supply connected
- swimming pool and spa safety barriers
- bushfire safety provisions, e.g. landscaping, neighboring fences/walls, etc.
- Any additional Class 10 structures sitting alongside the main building (see below)
All additional structures on the site (Class 10) must be accounted for and comply with building code and legislation, including: sheds, swimming pools, carports, pergolas, antennae/towers, signs/billboards, bushfire shelters and/or any structure costing more than $16k to build.
Civil infrastructure work including earthworks, road works, drainage installation, sewer, water reticulation infrastructure is subject to local planning requirements, but does not require a Building Permit as per the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995.
- Any structure with a water depth of more than 300mm is required to be certified:
- If an excavation is associated with a structure and is more than 1m in height/depth, then a permit is required.
- Registration of swimming pool/spa with local council, e.g. name, address, date of construction, applicable barrier standard (AS1926)
- Compliant safety barriers as per most recent Certificate of Swimming Pool Barrier Compliance including future inspection dates, building permit number and alteration/modification history
Any structure with a closed roof less than 10m2 and less than 3m in height and not constructed of masonry
- Demonstrable load bearing capability of structure, esp any footings/foundation work
- Is not placed forward of the primary building's frontage boundary wall;
- Siting placement is 9 metres from frontage and 2m from side boundaries
- If attached to another Class 10 structure (deck around the swimming pool), it must comply with that structure's requirements.
Any structure which is open roofed and/or with a permeable open weave covering, e.g. sun shade, vine lattice, vegetative shade overgrowth, platform in tree, etc.
- less than 20m2 and less than 3.6m in height
- sitting is further than 2.5m from boundary walls
- built to withstand loads, e.g. wind, gravity, rain/snow/hail, earthquake etc.
Fences/walls, antennae/masts, towers/chimnee, signs/billboards, solar panels, radio/satelite dishes etc.
Additional structures attached to the primary building do not require a permit if less than 3m above the height of the main building, however they must comply with the requirements of the structure to which the are attached:
- Structurally sound for purpose of structure, e.g. water tower constructed to be load bearing with block/pilling, etc.
- Any roof items requiring attachment to the roof frame must meet the load-bearing capacity and wind rating of the roof.
- If the building is heritage, then a planning permit may be required.
All building require maintenance, repair and replacement and should be added to your final schematic drawings and included in a building maintenance manual and safety measures checklist for all future owners. Common repairs which benefit from professional guidance:
- Glazing/window replacement
- Wood heater installation (via plumber)
- Roofing, esp terracotta, corrugated iron, colorbond, etc
- Wall cladding (via fire safety)