What is notifiable work in Tasmania?

Notifiable work is the middle tier of building work in Tasmania. A building surveyor checks the design and gives a certificate of likely compliance, the council’s permit authority is told before work starts, and the work goes ahead without a building permit. It has to be carried out by a licensed builder or an eligible owner builder, and the surveyor inspects it and signs it off at the end.

How does Tasmania sort building work?

By risk, into low risk work, notifiable work and permit work, with the state setting which kind of work falls where. Low risk work, such as a small shed within the state’s limits, can go ahead without a surveyor. Notifiable work takes a surveyor and a notice. Permit work takes a surveyor and a building permit as well. The building surveyor categorises the work, so ask one before you assume a tier.

What are the steps for notifiable work?

have the design documented, usually by a licensed designer
engage a building surveyor, who checks it and issues the certificate of likely compliance
sort out any plumbing permit and water or sewer consent the work needs
lodge the notice with the council’s permit authority before work starts
have the work inspected at the stages the surveyor sets
receive the certificate of completion at the end, and keep it with the property’s papers

Does notifiable work need a planning permit?

It can. The building tiers and planning run separately. The state’s planning scheme sets out what each zone allows, and some outbuildings can go ahead there with no planning permit where they meet the zone’s rules. A code or overlay on the lot, such as heritage or bushfire, can change that. Settle the planning question first, because the building surveyor’s certificate depends on it. The post on planning overlays explains what each kind changes.

Can I do notifiable work myself?

Sometimes, as an owner builder, within limits on the work and the value that the state sets. Past those limits a licensed builder has to carry it out. The post on building as an owner builder covers the general idea, and the state’s building regulator can confirm the limits.

What does the surveyor need from me?

Enough to check the work against the building rules: a site plan with the boundaries and the distance from the work to each one, floor plans and elevations, and the engineering for the structure. Bushfire prone land can add an assessment.

Reading it for your own lot

RapidSiteplan reads the council and building rules for your lot from its address, checks the design against them as you place it, lets you edit it as often as you like, and prints the site plan. Site plans and assessments in minutes. For a lot in Tasmania it shows the overlays and the distance from your structure to each boundary, ready for the surveyor to read.

Search your address, see what the plan shows for a shed, carport or other outbuilding, or read what we hold for Hobart. Tasmanian councils are listed by name, and site plans by council covers the rest of Australia.

Common questions

What is notifiable work in Tasmania? It is the middle tier of building work in the state. A building surveyor checks the design and gives a certificate of likely compliance, and the council’s permit authority is told before work starts. The work goes ahead without a building permit, carried out by a licensed builder or an eligible owner builder.

What is notifiable work compared with permit work? Both start with a building surveyor. Notifiable work goes ahead once the surveyor has issued the certificate and the permit authority has been told, while permit work also needs a building permit from the permit authority.

What is low risk building work in Tasmania? It is the tier below notifiable work, such as a small shed within the limits the state sets, which can be built without a building surveyor being engaged or a building permit. It still has to meet the building rules, and a planning permit can still apply.