Yes. An owner can apply for building approval for a patio, shed or carport, and plenty do, particularly for kit sheds and carports. You engage a certifier, or apply to the council where it assesses building work, and hand over the drawings the job needs. Many builders and kit suppliers do this for you as part of the job, so the first thing to settle is who is doing it, before each side assumes the other has.
What does applying involve?
You start by choosing who assesses it. In most of Australia that can be a private certifier or the council, and the owner’s consent goes with the application either way. Then the drawings: a site plan showing where the structure sits on the lot, the structure’s own plans and elevations, which a kit supplier usually provides, and the engineering for the frame and the footings. If the lot is in an overlay, the council may need a planning application before the certifier can finish.
Who draws the plans?
The site plan can come from the builder, the supplier, a drafter or you, as long as it is clear and to scale and shows what the certifier needs. A surveyor comes in where an exact boundary position matters, usually for work on the line or close to it. The post on getting a site plan for council sets out the ways to get one, and the post on what a site plan costs covers what decides the price.
Who decides?
The certifier decides the building approval, and the council decides any planning approval or siting variation the lot brings. If you will build it yourself, ask early whether your state needs an owner-builder permit for work of that value, since that is a separate application to a state body.
What goes on the site plan?
It needs the boundaries with their lengths, the buildings already on the lot, and the new structure at its quoted size with its distance to each boundary. Add the site cover with the new roof counted in, the easements and mains nearby, a north point and a scale. A plan that shows those up front heads off the requests for more information that come back most often.
Reading it for your own lot
RapidSiteplan reads the lot from its address in a minute: the boundaries, the buildings already there, the overlays and the mapped easements and mains. Place the shed or carport at kit size and the sheet carries the distance to every boundary and the site cover, ready to go in with the application. The sheds and carports page shows the sheet, and the council pages for every state show what each council maps. The post on approval after the work is built covers work already standing. Start with the address. The post on what a building certifier costs covers what a quote includes. The post on lodging a development application in South Australia covers the state portal step by step.
Common questions
Can I apply for council approval myself? Yes. An owner can engage a certifier, or apply to the council where it assesses building work, with a site plan, the structure’s plans and the engineering. Many builders and kit suppliers apply for you, so settle who is doing it first. The council decides any planning approval the lot brings.
Read next
Do I need a permit for a deck or a pergola?A low, small deck or an open pergola can often go ahead without approval, and each state draws the line in its own words Can I build a patio myself as an owner builder?Most states let you build your own patio, and past a value the state sets you need an owner builder permit first Do I need council approval for a spa?A spa that holds enough water is treated much like a poolGeneral information only, not building or legal advice, requirements vary by council and change over time; always confirm with your council or certifier.