Building permit in VIC vs construction certificate elsewhere

What it is

In Victoria, a building permit is the statutory document that authorises building work to start. It is issued by a relevant building surveyor (RBS) under section 24 of the Building Act 1993 (Vic) and the Building Regulations 2018. The closest equivalent in NSW is a Construction Certificate (CC), issued under the EP&A Act 1979. Builders and clients moving between states often confuse the two.

The VIC building permit is a single integrated document that includes both planning compliance (where applicable) and construction approval. The NSW CC sits on top of a separate Development Consent issued by council.

What the VIC building permit covers

A VIC building permit confirms:

• The proposed building work complies with the Building Act 1993, the Building Regulations 2018 and the National Construction Code
• Town planning approval has been obtained where required by the planning scheme
• Required inspections, documentation and prescribed reports are nominated against the permit
• The RBS has assessed and is satisfied with the building permit application

Once issued, the permit is the only document the builder needs to start work. The permit lists the mandatory inspection stages and any conditions on the build.

Permit lapse

A VIC building permit lapses if work does not commence within 12 months and is not completed within the period stated on the permit (default 36 months for new dwellings). Extensions must be applied for in writing to the RBS.

How NSW differs

In NSW the equivalent process is two stage:

• Development Application (DA) approved by council, leading to Development Consent
• Construction Certificate (CC) issued by a registered certifier under section 6.4 of the EP&A Act 1979

A NSW CC does not authorise the planning aspects of the project; that comes from the DA. A VIC building permit absorbs both into one document.

This matters when a national builder operates across both states. A NSW-style approval workflow will skip the planning check that a VIC RBS expects to see referenced on the permit application.

Common errors

• Builder treats the VIC town planning permit as the building permit and starts work without the building permit
• VIC builder moves to NSW and proceeds on the DA without a CC in place
• Permit conditions about energy rating, hydraulics or geotechnical reports are not closed out before the next inspection
• Stage one work (footings) starts before the permit is actually issued because the RBS has only sent a draft

Where it goes wrong

The riskiest pattern is verbal sign-off. An RBS will sometimes flag readiness to issue verbally and the builder will start. If the permit is then refused or modified, the work done is unauthorised and at risk under section 16 of the Building Act 1993.

Where TradeLens should flag risk

Audit triggers worth tracking on a VIC residential job:

• Site work commenced with no permit number recorded against the project
• Permit conditions referenced documents (engineering, energy, hydraulics) not loaded against the permit
• Planning permit absent on a job where the planning scheme requires it
• VIC permit nearing its 36-month completion limit with the final inspection still outstanding
• Builder using a NSW CC template workflow on a VIC project without a VBA-issued permit