Applying for a building permit in Western Australia
The Building Act 2011 and the Building Regulations 2012, regulate the building permit application process in WA. These regulations state that builders in Western Australia must get a Certificate of Design Compliance (CDC) from a registered building surveyor before they can receive an approved building permit and start work.
You can apply for a CDC at two stages
You can apply for the CDC at two stages, either before (certified) or after (uncertified) you submit your building permit application.
1. Before applying for a building permit (Certified CDC application)
This is where a registered building surveyor certifies that your proposed designs comply with the relevant statutory requirements and issue the CDC before you lodge a building permit application
2. After applying for a building permit (Uncertified CDC application)
Here your authority certifies the designs after you’ve submitted a building permit application.
Certified CDC can speed up the building process by 15 days
By getting a CDC before you apply for your building permit you will speed up your permit application time. The Regulations require that certified applications be processed within 10 business days, while an uncertified CDC can take up to 25 business days. This can potentially save you up to 2 weeks in valuable building time.
We offer quick turnaround times for CDCs
As long as you have all your documentation to us and everything is in order, we will have your CDC back to you within 48 hours.
What we do during a CDC assessment
We analyse all of your plans to ensure that all building elements and the design solution meets with the Australian Standards and Building Codes.
We assess the following:
- Architectural drawings
- Energy efficiency reports
- Structural documentation
- Geotechnical reports
- Bushfire attack level assessments
- Storm water layouts
What we certify
We assess the following:
- New single and multi-storey dwellings and ancillary dwellings (class 1)
- Garages, carports and sheds (class 10a)
- Swimming pools, screen walls and retaining walls (class 10b)
- Grouped dwellings and dual occupancies
Important points for Perth builders
- You can choose to get your CDC either before or after you apply for a building permit, however you need the CDC to get your building permit approved in order to start work
- By getting the CDC before applying for your permit, we can work with you to overcome any uncertainty around compliance
- The Building Codes and Australian Standards are difficult to keep on top of if you’re not dealing with them every day. If you work with us we will keep you updated with this information so you don’t have to worry about it.
- Cost control and scheduling are critical to making your business profitable. We can help you to control costs with appropriate compliance solutions. We also offer fast turnaround times for advice and CDCs, so you’ll be better able to plan and control your developments.
- Group Four is a national building surveying company with offices in Perth and Melbourne, and we have the resources, knowledge and experience to help you achieve your goals. Our client oriented focus is what drives our success.
- If a building does not meet the necessary requirements you could be open to professional negligence and possibly compromise the safety of the proposed occupants. Also, over compensating to ensure compliance is achieved can lead to unnecessary cost. We help you achieve a balanced solution.
We have a highly skilled base of building certifiers in Perth ready to help speed up your building process.