Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Building Act 1993 - SCHEDULE 2

Ss 18, 42, 54 PROCEDURES FOR BUILDING PERMITS AND OCCUPANCY PERMITS

1. Form of application

An application must-

   (a)  contain the prescribed information; and





   (b)  contain any matters, and be accompanied by any documents, prescribed
        for the purposes of this clause; and

   (c)  be accompanied by the fees-

   (i)  determined by the council in accordance with the
        Local Government Act 1989; or

   (ii) in the case of an application to a private building surveyor,
        determined by the private building surveyor; and

   (d)  be accompanied by the appropriate prescribed lodgement fee (if any);
        and





   (e)  if the relevant building surveyor is required to give a copy of the
        application to an authority which is a reporting authority, be
        accompanied by the relevant fees (if any) fixed by the reporting
        authority under clause 4 for payment to the reporting authority.

2. Building surveyor may request more information



(1) The relevant building surveyor may require an applicant to provide
additional information or documents or to amend the application before the
relevant building surveyor deals with or deals further with the application.

(2) The prescribed time within which the relevant building surveyor must
decide an application for a permit-

   (a)  ceases to run at the time when the relevant building surveyor requires
        the applicant to provide additional information or documents or amend
        the application; and

   (b)  recommences to run only when the information, documents or amended
        application are supplied to the relevant building surveyor.

3. Application may be refused if information not provided



(1) If additional information or a document or an amended application required
to be supplied by an applicant is not supplied within the time specified by
the relevant building surveyor, the relevant building surveyor may refuse the
application.

(2) Before refusing an application under subclause (1), the relevant building
surveyor must give the applicant 30 days notice in writing of his or her
intention to refuse the application.

4. Reporting authorities must be consulted



(1) Subject to this Schedule, the relevant building surveyor must not decide
an application for a permit that is required by this Act or the regulations or
by any other Act or regulations to be reported on, or consented to, by a
reporting authority unless the report or consent has been obtained.

(2) Unless exempted by this Schedule, the relevant building surveyor must give
a copy of an application to each reporting authority within the prescribed
time after the application is received by the relevant building surveyor.

(3) The relevant building surveyor must forward to a reporting authority with
the copy of an application, any fees paid to the building surveyor under
clause 1(e) in respect of that application and that reporting authority.

(4) A reporting authority may fix fees (not exceeding the maximum fees
prescribed for the purposes of this clause) for applications or classes of
applications referred to it under this Act or the regulations.

(5) If the reporting authority is a council, the fees must be determined in
accordance with the Local Government Act 1989.

(6) A reporting authority other than a council must publish a notice in the
Government Gazette of any fees fixed by it under this clause.

4A. Reporting authority must have regard to section 188A guidelines in some
cases



(1) This clause applies if-

   (a)  a reporting authority is required by this or any other Act or by the
        regulations to report on, or to consent to, an application for a
        building permit for a single dwelling, within the meaning of section
        188A(4); and

   (b)  the regulations provide that section 188A applies to applications of
        that kind.



(2) In reporting on, or considering whether to consent to, the application,
the reporting authority-

   (a)  must have regard to the guidelines for the time being in force under
        section 188A; and

   (b)  in having regard to those guidelines, if in the opinion of the
        reporting authority the application may result in a nearby allotment
        suffering detriment, must give the owner of the allotment an
        opportunity to make a submission in respect of the possible detriment;
        and

   (c)  must consider any submission made under paragraph (b); and

   (d)  must refuse to give its consent to the application if the application
        does not comply with any matter set out in those guidelines.

5. Applicant may obtain report or consent



(1) An applicant for a permit may obtain a required report or consent from a
reporting authority.

(1A) If the applicant applies for a consent or report to a reporting
authority, the application must be accompanied by the relevant fees (if any)
fixed by the reporting authority under clause 4.





(2) An applicant for a permit must notify the relevant building surveyor when
the application is made as to whether the applicant has applied or intends to
apply for any required report or consent by a reporting authority;





(3) The relevant building surveyor need not obtain a report or consent from a
reporting authority if the applicant-

   (a)  notifies the building surveyor that the applicant has applied for or
        intends to apply for that report or consent; or

   (b)  supplies the relevant building surveyor with a copy of the report made
        in the last 12 months or of the consent.

(4) An applicant who applies for and obtains a required report or consent must
supply a copy of the report or consent to the relevant building surveyor-

   (a)  when the application for the permit is made; or

   (b)  within any further time that is prescribed or allowed by the building
        surveyor.

6. What if a reporting authority (other than a council or council officer)
fails to supply a report or consent?



(1) Despite anything to the contrary in the regulations or any other Act or
regulations, the relevant building surveyor may proceed to decide an
application without a report being obtained if a copy of the report is not
supplied by the reporting authority (other than a council or an officer of a
council) within the prescribed time.

(2) A reporting authority (other than a council or an officer of a council) is
deemed to have consented to a permit if the authority has not within the
prescribed time informed the relevant building surveyor or the applicant of-

   (a)  its consent to the application; or

   (b)  refusal of consent and the reasons for that refusal.

(3) An applicant for a permit may appeal to the Building Appeals Board against
a failure of a reporting authority which is a council or an officer of a
council to inform the relevant building surveyor or the applicant within the
prescribed time of-

   (a)  its consent to the application; or

   (b)  its refusal of consent and the reasons for that refusal.

(4) The Building Appeals Board must consider an appeal under subclause (3) and
may make any order that it considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(5) This clause does not apply to a responsible authority under the
Planning and Environment Act 1987 in its capacity as a reporting authority for
the purposes of section 29A of this Act.

(6) A reference in this clause to a council, with respect to an application,
is to be read as including a reference to any reporting authority that has to
comply with clause 4A(2) in reporting on, or considering whether to consent
to, the application.

6A. What if the reporting authority is the responsible authority under the
Planning and Environment Act 1987?



(1) This clause applies only to a responsible authority under the
Planning and Environment Act 1987 in its capacity as a reporting authority for
the purposes of section 29A of this Act.

(2) Despite anything to the contrary in the regulations or any other Act or
regulations, the relevant building surveyor may proceed to decide an
application without a report being obtained if a copy of the report is not
supplied by the reporting authority within the prescribed time.

(3) Subject to subclause (4), a reporting authority is deemed to have
consented to a permit if the authority has not within the prescribed time
informed the relevant building surveyor of-

   (a)  its consent to the application; or

   (b)  its refusal of consent and the reasons for that refusal.

(4) A reporting authority is deemed to have refused to consent to a permit if-

   (a)  the authority is required under section 29A to refuse its consent; and

   (b)  the authority has not within the prescribed time informed the relevant
        building surveyor of that refusal.

7. Relevant building surveyor must consider report



(1) The relevant building surveyor must consider any report of a reporting
authority supplied under this Schedule before deciding the relevant
application for a permit.

(2) In deciding an application, the relevant building surveyor must implement
the recommendations of a prescribed reporting authority in relation to a
prescribed matter.

(3) Except as provided in subclause (2), the relevant building surveyor is not
required to implement any of the recommendations in a report by a reporting
authority.

(4) For the purposes of subclause (2) and without limiting that subclause-

   (a)  a responsible authority under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 is
        a prescribed reporting authority; and



   (b)  a demolition to which section 29A applies is a prescribed matter.

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