Who gives building approval: council or a certifier?

Usually a private certifier, for the building side. Two different approvals get called “council approval”: one is about where and whether you can build, the other about how it is built, and they are assessed by different people against different documents. Mixing them up is why the process feels confusing.

To check a particular block, type its address into RapidSiteplan: it reads the lot and the rules that apply there and checks the structure you place against them, in minutes.

Why are there two approvals, not one?

Planning approval (also called development approval) answers whether a structure of that kind, size and position is acceptable on that land. It is judged against the planning scheme your council administers.

Building approval answers whether the structure is designed and built to the National Construction Code and the standards it calls up. Plenty of small domestic projects need only this second one. Some need both. A few need neither, which is the exempt category.

Who signs off the building approval?

In most states the building approval for ordinary domestic work is issued by a private certifier rather than by council staff, and in Queensland most of it is. The job title varies by state: building certifier, private certifier, registered building surveyor. They are licensed, insured, and legally responsible for the approvals they issue.

This is why you engage one directly and why turnaround is often measured in days rather than months. It also means the certifier is not your advocate and not council's. They check that the design meets the code, and a drawing that does not show it comes straight back.

What does the certifier actually check?

• Design and construction against the National Construction Code and the standards it calls up, including the wind class for the site
• Siting: setbacks to each boundary, site coverage, and height
• Clashes: easements, mapped sewer and other services under the footprint
• Documentation: a complete, consistent set. Site plan, elevations, and engineering where the structure needs it
• Inspections at the stages the approval sets, through to final sign-off

Where does the site plan fit?

The site plan is the first document opened and the one most requests for information come back about. Every siting check above is made against it: if the setbacks are missing, measured to the wrong point, or the drawing is not to scale, nothing else can be assessed yet.

When is council still the one deciding?

Planning stays with council. You need a planning decision when the proposal sits outside what the scheme accepts: a setback tighter than the scheme allows, coverage over the limit, or a lot carrying an overlay such as flood, bushfire, landslide, heritage or vegetation. Council also sets its own fees and keeps the record of past approvals on the property.

Thresholds, setback figures and which overlays apply differ between councils and between states, so the certifier engaged for your job is the one who confirms what your project needs.

What only your address can answer

• the setbacks and site cover the rules set for your lot
• which overlays your council has mapped over the block
• whether the project fits what the scheme accepts, or needs a planning decision
• easements and services under the footprint
• the wind class the structure has to be engineered for

RapidSiteplan reads your own block from its address: the boundaries, the buildings already on it, the rules that apply there and any overlay or easement, and checks what you plan to build against them on a scaled site plan.

Search your address to start. Site plans and assessments in minutes.

Sources: the siting rules a site plan is read against, by state, all read in September 2026: Queensland Housing Code (Qld); State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (NSW); Building Regulations 2018 (Vic); Planning and Design Code (SA); Residential Design Codes Volume 1 (WA); Tasmanian Planning Scheme, State Planning Provisions (Tas); Planning (Exempt Development) Regulation 2023 (ACT); NT Planning Scheme 2020 (NT).

Common questions

Is a private certifier the same as council? No. A private certifier is a licensed, insured professional who issues the building approval and carries the legal responsibility for it. Council administers the planning scheme and decides planning matters. In most states, most ordinary domestic building approvals come from private certifiers.

Do I need planning approval as well as building approval? Often not. Many small domestic projects sit inside what the planning scheme already accepts, so they need only a building approval. You need a planning decision from council when the proposal falls outside the scheme, such as a setback closer than allowed or a site affected by an overlay.

What does a certifier want to see first? The site plan. It shows the lot boundaries, what is already built, and the proposed structure dimensioned with its distance to each boundary, which is what the siting checks are made against.

General information only, not building or legal advice, requirements vary by council and change over time; always confirm with your council or certifier.