Rules, permits and approvals

Version 3 published 10 April 2026. Check the document collection page above before relying on it — the WAPC amends this document and the version number is on page ii of the PDF.

Written against the April 2024 version of Volume 1 and covers Part B only. Part C is dealt with in the Explanatory Guidelines instead. Cross-check any clause number against the current Volume 1.

Version 1, published March 2024. It is guidance, not statute — the R-Codes themselves win where the two differ.

These deemed provisions are automatically part of every local planning scheme in WA, so they apply to your block whichever council you are in. Your scheme can still add special control areas that switch the exemptions off.

It holds schemes and structure plans, not local planning policies. Policies live on the council's own site and you have to ask for the list.

Published December 2020. It states the application fee is capped at $295; fees are set under the Planning and Development Regulations 2009 and change, so confirm the current figure with your council. The check covers single houses and their extensions only, not the other clause 61 exemptions.

Building and Energy sets the rules; your local government assesses the application and applies its own local laws on top. Contact the council, not the department, about what they will want lodged.

The consolidated regulations are a large document and the site serves it as one file. Use your browser's find function for "retaining wall" rather than scrolling.

The R-code numbers on this page are Joondalup's local application. Your own council's local planning policy may set different figures for the street setback area.

Greater Geraldton, not Perth. The surcharge and boundary principles are general WA practice; the fees, the development approval trigger and the submission checklist are that council's own. Use it to understand the concepts, then confirm the numbers with your council.

The standalone clause 5.3.8 Retaining walls was deleted by amendment dated 2 July 2021 — retaining walls are now assessed under Site works. Local governments can also modify clause 5.3.7 through a local development plan, so your local planning policy may override these figures.

An older Building and Energy page still states 1 July 2026 as the mandatory date for structural engineers. This page, updated more recently, states 1 July 2027 for all four areas. Either way the direction of travel is the same — ask your engineer whether they are already registered with the Building Services Board.

The NCC is a national code adopted by each state. Read it alongside the WA appendix, and remember it answers "is this design compliant" — not "do I need a permit", which is answered by the WA regulations.

This is a reseller listing, which is where the price was verified. Standards Australia's own store also carries it. Some public libraries and TAFE WA campuses provide reading access to Australian Standards at no cost — ask before you buy.

Check the currency date at the top of the page before relying on it. The version consulted for this lesson was 04-ae0-01, current at 23 July 2026. Schedule 4 clause 1 also exempts whole rural local government districts, none of which are in Perth or Peel.

Part B applies to single houses coded R40 and below and grouped dwellings R25 and below; denser codings use Part C, which has different outbuilding numbers. Your local government can also modify the outbuilding and street setback clauses through a local planning policy without state approval, so check the policy as well as the code.

Designation is by the FES Commissioner and the map is reissued periodically, so check it again if your project spans a year or more. Being in the mapped area is the trigger; the BAL rating itself is determined for your specific building site.

The old $20,000 threshold still applies where construction commenced before 1 July 2026, and some wa.gov.au pages had not been updated when this was checked. Work out your total project value, not just the structure, before you assume you are under.

This is one council's interpretation and its own thresholds, not state law. Use it to understand the shape of the question, then get your own council's answer in writing before you build.

Guidance, not law. It covers the deemed-to-satisfy pathway only; a performance solution must be approved by your local government before you rely on it. Only the local government can confirm a barrier is compliant.

This one-pager still carries Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety branding from March 2020; the agency is now the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety. The dimensions still match the December 2025 booklet, but treat the booklet as the authority and ignore the checklist's older contact details.

Dated May 2024 and issued under the department's former name. Cross-check the permit fee against the current Schedule 2 of the Building Regulations 2012, which was replaced on 1 July 2026.

Check the version date at the top before you quote anything. The version read for this lesson is current as at 23 July 2026; this Division was amended by SL 2023/208, SL 2025/34 and the fee changes commencing 1 July 2026.

First published August 2018 and last updated 15 April 2025, so it is a standing warning rather than breaking news. The latches are typically unbranded, which means you cannot rule yours out by brand — have the council inspector look at it.

The Act does not bind the Crown, and the definition of owner in section 5 excludes trustees of a public reserve or public park. If your boundary is with council public open space, a school or a reserve, you cannot compel a contribution under this Act — ask the land manager what their policy is instead.

Where no building or demolition permit is in effect, the Building Act defines the "person responsible for work" as each owner of the land the work is done on — that is you, not your contractor. Serving the form is your duty even on a DIY job.

This is one council's local law and it binds nobody outside the City of Bayswater. Materials, heights and front-setback rules vary between Perth councils, and local laws are amended — the City of Melville was consulting on a fencing amendment local law during 2026.

The street setback distances and densities quoted are Joondalup's. Your own council's local planning scheme and any structure plan or design guidelines may differ, and a rural or special-control area changes it again.

Mediation is voluntary. If your neighbour will not attend, it achieves nothing and you are back to the notice-and-court path under the Act.

The register lists individuals, not firms or prices. Get at least two quotes for a boundary re-establishment survey — the cost varies with how much old survey evidence still exists on the ground.

These thresholds are work health and safety duties binding anyone doing the work for fee or reward. A homeowner working on their own home also has duties under the Health (Asbestos) Regulations 1992 and must dispose of the material at a facility licensed to accept it — confirm the tip and the wrapping requirements with your local government environmental health officer first.

The lookup uses your street number, not your apartment or villa number. If your property is still on a lot number, ring Water Corporation rather than guessing.

The exemption is a permission to water outside the roster, not free water. Water Corporation states you are charged for the extra water and it counts towards your billing year usage, and non-compliance with the exemption conditions risks a $500 fine.

It is a modelled estimate across the Perth metropolitan area, not a measurement of your block. Treat it as a go / no-go screen and have the driller confirm on site.

The Map is redrawn periodically. Being off it in 2020 tells you nothing about 2026 — re-check before you design, and again before you lodge anything.

The definition of relevant building excludes anything built under a development approval obtained on or after 8 December 2015, because those buildings were already designed to a BAL. If your house is newer than that, these standards give you nothing and your Bushfire Management Plan governs instead.

Bans are declared daily by district. Check emergency.wa.gov.au or the hotline on 1800 709 355 the morning of the work, not the week before.

Written nationally and drawing on Victorian CFA work, so the fuel types and species examples skew east. The principles — fuel continuity, particle size, separation, non-combustible zones — transfer directly to a Perth block; substitute WA species and remember that mulch is doing much harder water-retention work in sand than it is in a Melbourne loam.

Written for quarry and mine operators, so most of the risk tables are about extraction rather than gardens. Read the introduction, Appendix 2 (hygiene) and Appendix 3 (FAQs) and skip the rest.

Overkill for a single home renovation. The free alternative that covers the same practice is Appendix 2 of the DWG basic raw materials guidelines plus the Perth NRM information sheet, both listed here. Confirm the current fee with DWG — the published rate dates from July 2023.

Mapped occurrence data is patchy and absence of a record is not evidence of absence — most private land has never been assessed. Treat unmapped as unknown, not clean.

It lists production nurseries and suppliers nationally, so filter to WA. Accreditation is voluntary and plenty of good WA growers are not in the scheme — its absence is a prompt to ask questions, not a disqualification.