https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/ Plain-English posts on site plans and approvals across Australia, and the council and building code news that touches a site plan. en-au Sun, 08 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/louvre-roof-approval/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/louvre-roof-approval/ Sun, 08 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT A louvre roof is read like a patio roof, even with the blades open. When it needs approval, and what the certifier checks on an opening roof. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/who-pays-for-a-boundary-fence/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/who-pays-for-a-boundary-fence/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT Neighbours usually share the cost of a dividing fence equally, under each state’s own fencing law. How the notice works, what counts, and when you pay alone. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/pool-in-the-front-yard/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/pool-in-the-front-yard/ Wed, 04 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT A pool in front of the house is possible on many lots, but the street setback, the barrier and the front fence bring questions a backyard pool does not. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/retaining-wall-on-the-boundary/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/retaining-wall-on-the-boundary/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT A retaining wall can often sit on or near the boundary, but its height, footings, drainage and the neighbour’s land decide how. Who to ask, and what to show. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/deck-distance-to-the-boundary/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/deck-distance-to-the-boundary/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT A deck’s distance to the boundary depends on its height, the state’s siting rules and whether it looks over the neighbour. Who decides, and what to show. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/carport-bal-rating/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/carport-bal-rating/ Sun, 01 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT On bushfire prone land a carport attached to the house, or close to it, is usually built to the house’s bushfire level. How the rating is read. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/acid-sulfate-soils/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/acid-sulfate-soils/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT Acid sulfate soils are harmless until they are dug up or drained. Where they are mapped, what work brings the question, and who decides what follows. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/building-certifier-cost/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/building-certifier-cost/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT Building certifier cost has no set price: most certifiers set their own fee. What the quote covers, what adds to it, and how to compare two of them. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/carport-approval-australia/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/carport-approval-australia/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT Most carports need building approval, and a few fit an exemption. What decides it, who signs it off, and what the site plan has to show for your lot. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/complying-development-certificate-nsw/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/complying-development-certificate-nsw/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A complying development certificate is one approval for planning and building, for work that meets every fixed standard in NSW. Who issues it, and when. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/da-and-cdc-fees-nsw/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/da-and-cdc-fees-nsw/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A DA fee in NSW follows a state scale tied to the estimated cost of the work, and other bills follow it. How DA and CDC fees are worked out and compared. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/draw-a-site-plan-on-a-computer/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/draw-a-site-plan-on-a-computer/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT Any program that holds a true scale can draw a site plan, but none of them knows your lot. What each kind of program does well and how to check the result. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/exempt-development-nsw/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/exempt-development-nsw/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT Exempt development is minor work New South Wales lets you build without a DA or a certificate, while it meets every standard. What the standards test. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/existing-services-plan/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/existing-services-plan/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT An existing services plan shows the sewer, stormwater, water, gas, power and phone lines already on a lot. When you need one and how to find the lines. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/garage-carport-or-shed-approval/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/garage-carport-or-shed-approval/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A garage big enough for a car usually needs building approval. How a garage differs from a carport or shed, and why walls and a door change the rules. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/granny-flat-approval-australia/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/granny-flat-approval-australia/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A granny flat always needs building approval, and some states skip the planning step when it meets their standards. How granny flat approval works. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/notifiable-work-tasmania/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/notifiable-work-tasmania/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT Notifiable work is Tasmania’s middle tier of building work: a building surveyor certifies the design and the council is told, without a building permit. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/owner-builder-permit/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/owner-builder-permit/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT You need an owner builder permit when the value of the work passes the line your state sets. What it covers, what it does not, and who issues it. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/pergola-approval-australia/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/pergola-approval-australia/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A small open pergola can often go ahead without building approval. Why the roof changes the answer, what else does, and who decides for your lot. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/planning-or-building-permit-victoria/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/planning-or-building-permit-victoria/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT Victoria keeps two permits, and backyard work can need one, both or neither. Which work usually takes which, who issues each, and which comes first. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/plansa-development-application/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/plansa-development-application/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT PlanSA is South Australia’s online planning portal, and development applications are lodged through it. The steps, the two consents, and the public register. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/r-codes-wa/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/r-codes-wa/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT The R-Codes are Western Australia’s residential design codes: how homes and outbuildings sit on a lot. The density coding, the setbacks, and who decides. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/see-my-neighbours-building-plans/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/see-my-neighbours-building-plans/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT You can often read a neighbour’s plans while their application is advertised. How to find them, what stays private, and how to make a submission. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/shed-approval-nsw/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/shed-approval-nsw/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A shed in New South Wales is exempt, complying development or a development application. What decides which, and who gives the approval on your lot. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/site-plan-template/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/site-plan-template/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A site plan template works as a checklist of the parts and the layout. What every plan carries, how the sheet is set out, and what a template leaves out. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/special-building-overlay/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/special-building-overlay/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A special building overlay marks land in Victoria that stormwater can flood when the drains overflow. What needs a planning permit and who has a say. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/verandah-approval/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/verandah-approval/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT A roofed verandah usually needs building approval, and enclosing one needs more. What the state calls it, who decides, and what your lot changes. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/what-does-da-approval-mean/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/what-does-da-approval-mean/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT DA approval means the planning authority has agreed to a development application, usually with conditions. What it allows, and what comes before you build. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/what-is-overland-flow/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/what-is-overland-flow/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT Overland flow is stormwater running across the ground when the drains overflow. How councils map it, what the overlay asks for, and who decides. https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/what-is-rescode/ https://www.rapidsiteplan.au/blog/what-is-rescode/ Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT ResCode is the common name for Victoria’s residential standards on siting, overlooking and overshadowing. What it covers, and who applies it to your work.