When do I need an owner builder permit?

You need an owner builder permit when the value of the work you are building on your own property passes the line your state sets. Below that line you can usually build it yourself without one. Either way the permit is about who builds, not about the work itself, so the building approval still applies. The line, the name and what the state asks for all vary, so the state’s building regulator is the one to ask.

How is the value of the work counted?

States generally count what the work would cost if a builder did it, materials and labour together, and your own unpaid hours can count towards it. So a kit that looks cheap can still pass the line once the labour is added.

What does the state ask for?

It varies, but these come up most often:

proof that you own the property and the work is on it
a short course or a test, in several states
a limit on how often you can owner build, in some states

Queensland and New South Wales call it a permit, Victoria calls it a certificate of consent and Western Australia calls it an approval. A few other places handle it differently, so read your own state’s page before you plan around it.

Is a permit the same as building approval?

No, and this catches people. The owner builder permit lets you act as the builder, while building approval checks the design and the siting. Whether a shed, patio or extension needs approval depends on its size, its position and the overlays on the lot, not on who builds it. The post on council approval sorts the small structures. An owner builder applies like anyone else, as the post on applying yourself explains, and many certifiers will ask to see the permit before they issue anything.

What does being the owner builder make you responsible for?

The job. You book the inspections, you keep the site safe, you arrange the insurance and you answer for the work meeting the building rules. Electrical work goes to a licensed trade every time, and plumbing and drainage do in most places. The post on building a patio yourself walks through a typical small job.

What happens when I sell?

Some states ask you to tell the buyer about the owner builder work, or to take out insurance for it, if you sell within a period after finishing. Keep the permit, the approval, the certificates and the inspection records together, because a buyer’s solicitor will ask for them.

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. An owner builder gets the same sheet a builder would lodge, ready for the certifier or the council, with the wind class of the lot for the kit order.

Search your address, see what the plan shows for a shed, carport or other outbuilding, or read what we hold for Toowoomba. Site plans by council covers the rest of Australia.

Common questions

When do I need an owner builder permit? When the value of the work you are building on your own property passes the line your state sets. Below that line you can usually build without one, as long as the work has whatever building approval it needs. The state’s building regulator can tell you where the line sits.

Is an owner builder permit the same as building approval? No. The permit lets you act as the builder, and building approval checks the work itself. You usually need both, and one never stands in for the other.

What is owner builder approval in my state? The same idea under another name. Queensland and New South Wales call it a permit, Victoria a certificate of consent, and Western Australia an approval. The state’s building regulator issues it and sets what it asks for.