Do I need council approval for paving?

Paving inside your lot can often go ahead without council or building approval, as long as it stays at the level of the ground, drains the right way and keeps off easements, the road reserve and any heritage listing. Paving that reaches the footpath, raises the levels, covers a lot already near its limit for hard surfaces, or sits in a flood overlay brings the council into it.

When does paving need approval?

Usually when it changes something beyond the surface. Raising the ground behind a retaining edge, building up a terrace, laying pavers over an easement or a sewer main, or paving a front garden into parking each brings its own question. A heritage listing can reach what a front garden looks like, and some councils ask about the materials there.

Do I need council approval to concrete my driveway?

For the crossover, the strip between the kerb and the property line, almost always, because the council or the road authority decides it. A new or wider driveway inside the lot is read for its water and its hard surface rather than as building work. The post on driveway extensions covers the crossover, and the post on concreting the backyard covers slabs behind the house.

Where does the water go?

Every paved surface sends rain somewhere it did not go before. The council reads the fall of the paving, where it drains and whether it pushes water onto the neighbour or towards the house. Permeable pavers and gravel let some of it soak in, and some councils count them differently from concrete, which can decide whether a large paved area fits.

Does paving count towards site coverage?

Usually not, because site coverage counts roofed structures. Many councils also keep a share of the lot as garden or soft landscaping, and paving does count against that. On a small lot with a house, a garage and a driveway, a new paved courtyard can be what takes it over. The post on site coverage explains the count.

Does it matter in a flood overlay?

It can. Paving that raises the ground can block overland flow, and councils with a flood overlay often ask that the levels stay as they are or that the water still has a path across the lot. A flat paved area at ground level is rarely the problem; the fill under a raised one usually is.

Reading it for your own lot

RapidSiteplan reads the lot from its address in a minute: the boundaries, the house and the existing paths traced from the aerial photo, the contours, the mapped easements and mains, and the flood overlay where it is published. Trace the paving and the sheet gives the area of each pour and the direction the water falls. The concreting and driveways page shows the sheet, and the council pages for every state show what each council maps. Start with the address.

Common questions

Do I need council approval for paving? Paving inside the lot can often go ahead without building approval, as long as it stays at ground level, drains the right way and keeps off easements, the road reserve and any heritage listing. Paving that reaches the footpath, raises the levels or covers a lot already near its limit for hard surfaces brings the council in.

Do I need council approval to concrete my driveway? For the crossover between the kerb and the property line, almost always, because the council or the road authority decides it. A new or wider driveway inside the lot is read for its water and its hard surface rather than as building work.

Does paving count towards site coverage? Usually not, because site coverage counts roofed structures. Many councils also keep a share of the lot as garden or soft landscaping, and paving does count against that, so on a small lot a paved courtyard can be what takes it over.