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HOW TO APPLY FOR AN OWNER-BUILDER PERMIT?

• One of the applicants named on the Title must complete an Owner Builder Course or be granted an exemption from completing the course prior to lodging the application;
• Complete an Owner Builder Permit Application form;
• Lodge the application form along with proof of ownership of the property (original or certified copy of a Current Title Search or Registration Confirmation Statement that's no older than 30 days old) from the Titles Office or one of their recommended Title Search Distributors, along with proof of identity and the required fee (all information is contained in the application form).

ARE YOU LEASING?
If you wish to apply for an owner builder permit and you are a lessee of the property, you will need to seek legal advice regarding your rights and obligations. You will need to provide the information noted above, excluding the proof of ownership, AND:

• Proof of the lessor's ownership of the property (e.g. Title);
• A copy of the lease agreement; and
• A letter from the owner/lessor giving you permission to perform the work under an owner builder permit on the property. A description of the intended building work must be included.

The application for the owner builder permit must be made by the lessee but must also include the owner's details in the application. The lessee will become the permit holder and is required to sign the application form. The lessee will not be eligible to hold a subsequent permit for 6 years from the date of issue of a previous permit.

CAN A COMPANY APPLY FOR AN OWNER-BUILDER PERMIT?
Yes - Where a company is making application for a permit the following applies:

• The application should be made by the company and MUST contain all directors' names and signatures;
• One of the directors must complete the Owner Builder Course or be granted an exemption from having to undertake the course;
• Proof of the company's directors must be provided in the form of an Australian Securities and Investment Commission Current Company Extract or an Historical Company Extract.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK AND VALUE
It is important that you provide a detailed description of the works to be undertaken and an accurate estimated value of the cost of construction. The value of building work must be determined by calculating the cost of all materials and the cost a licensed contractor would charge you for the work as if they were performing the work (including GST), regardless of whether the contractor is performing the work or not. This means you cannot reduce the price if you obtain discounted or recycled materials or free labour.

HOW LONG DOES AN APPLICATION TAKE TO PROCESS?
QBCC aim to process an application within one month of receipt if all required information is provided and there are no requests for exemptions. Exemption or exceptional circumstance requests or missing documentation will delay the process. Once the application is processed the permit will be sent to your notified postal address.

NOTIFICATION ON TITLE
If you are issued an owner builder permit, a notification is entered onto the land title for a minimum of seven years. This notification indicates that an owner builder permit has been granted in relation to domestic building work carried out on the property. The purpose of the notification is to ensure that any future purchasers are made aware that the work was performed under a permit. It may be removed by the Registrar of Titles after seven years from the date of entry has elapsed. This is detailed more fully in your permit, in some instances it can affect the sale of your property. Contact the Department of Environment and Resource Management to obtain a copy of your Title.

Note - you are only entitled to one permit every six years!

ARE THERE ANY EXEMPTIONS FROM THE 6-YEAR RULE?
In exceptional circumstances, QBCC may be able to grant a second permit within a six year timeframe. Exceptional circumstances could be if either you, or a person you are living with, is suffering from a serious medical condition or severe financial hardship and the work to be carried out would help.

If you are applying for another building permit within six years of obtaining the first permit you are required to apply for exemption from the six-year ruling. You will need to complete and lodge an Application for Exemption from the Six-year Ruling form.

DOWNLOADABLE FORMS
Download application form (individual)

Only an individual can apply for an owner-builder licence. You must own the land to be developed. Where there is more than one owner, all owners must consent to the application. It is recommended that the owner with the most appropriate skills to carry out the proposed work should be put forward as the primary applicant.

There is also a restriction on the number of owner-builder licences that can be issued.

To be eligible for an owner-builder licence, you must not have been granted an owner-builder licence in relation to other land in the previous five years. There is no restriction on the number of owner-builder licences for work on the same site.

Mandatory qualifications apply, including the need to demonstrate sufficient experience to do the building work and satisfactory completion of an owner-builder course and white-card course to demonstrate you have sufficient knowledge of legislative and technical requirements. The experience and qualifications required are relative to the complexity of building work:

• if you apply for an owner-builder licence to build or renovate a Building Code of Australia class 1 building such as a new residence or an addition/alteration to a residence, you will need to have successfully completed an owner-builder course or examination within the last 5 years provided the course or examination was undertaken after 1 September 2004, or you are the holder of a builder licence (class A, B, C or interstate equivalent); or
• if you apply to build a Building Code of Australia class 10 structure such as a deck, pergola, carport, garage or retaining wall, you will need to provide evidence of your skills and experience to demonstrate that you are able to satisfactorily carry out the building work or, alternatively, you have successfully completed an owner-builder course or examination within the last 5 years provided the course or examination was undertaken after 1 September 2004, or you are the holder of a builder licence (class A, B, C or interstate equivalent)

MANUAL FORMS
Download application form

ONLINE FORM
Online application form

WHAT CAN AN OWNER-BUILDER BUILD?
To become an owner-builder, you must first obtain owner-builder approval from the Building Commission, and then a building permit from your local government.

When applying you must show that you have sufficient knowledge of the duties and responsibilities involved in being an owner-builder to the Building Services Board. This can be done by completing an owner-builder course, being registered or licensed as a building industry professional/tradesperson in Western Australia, or having other relevant building industry qualifications or experience.

To apply complete and submit an owner-builder approval application form and pay the application fee. Fees are updated on 1 July each year.

WHAT CAN AN OWNER-BUILDER BUILD?

• Construct a detached dwelling, including a granny flat.
• Carry out additions and alterations to an existing dwelling.
• Construct a non-habitable building such as a private garage, carport, shed or the like.
• Small commercial building – being a one or two storey building with a floor space of less than 500m2 that is not a detached house, Class 10 building or farm building.

To obtain an owner-builder approval you must be the owner of the land. If the building work relates to a dwelling you must reside, continue to reside or intend to reside on the land on which the building work is to be carried out when the building work is completed. In the case of commercial building work or a non-habitable building you must intend to occupy or use the land on which the owner-builder work is completed.

Owner-builder approvals can only be issued to individuals and not to corporate bodies or trusts.

THE APPROVAL PROCESS TIMEFRAME
Most owner-builder approval applications are determined within three weeks. The Building Commission will contact you if any further information is required to process your application. You will be notified as soon as a decision regarding your application has been made.

RESTRICTIONS ON BUILDING AS AN OWNER-BUILDER
Once your owner-builder approval has been issued, you must apply for a building permit from your local permit authority within six months. If you do not, your owner-builder approval will expire.

Owner-builders can only be issued with a building permit once every six years. If you have been issued with a building permit by the local government within the last six years, it is an offence to declare that you have not.

The Board has the discretion to waive the six year restriction. A waiver is only granted in circumstances where significant hardship would be suffered if the request was refused, or the new building permit will be for the same property and owners as the previously granted permit/licence. You must apply to the Board for a waiver.

APPLICATION TO THE BOARD FOR A WAIVER
For approval to obtain another building permit without the requirement for home indemnity insurance, complete the “Request for waiver” form and submit to the Building Commission. You may submit the request before or as part of an application for owner-builder approval.
DOWNLOADABLE FORMS
Download application form (individual)

Download waiver form

7 STEPS TO BECOMING AN OWNER-BUILDERS
1. Develop your plans with an architect or accredited building designer and decide whether you want to become an owner builder.

2. Take your completed plans to a building surveyor and tell them that you intend to be an owner builder.

Book in and complete:

• The Tasmanian Owner Builder Responsibilities Course with us; and
• Construction Induction card (White Card).

4. Engage a Building Surveyor and complete an application form for an Owner Builder Permit. The application form is to be lodged at a Service Tasmania Shop with supporting documents (particularly insurance and training course certificates as evidence of having undertaken the owner builder course) and make the payment of the Owner Builder Permit fee.

5. If approval of the application is granted, the Administrator of Occupational Licensing will issue a letter of confirmation (The Permit) with a permit number. The building surveyor will then issue you with a Certificate of Likely Compliance.

6. You now need to apply for a building permit from your local council. You will need to include the following with your application for a building permit:

• All design documents.
• A copy of the approved letter for an Owner Builder Permit and.
• The Certificate of Likely Compliance.

7. Before you start building, you must provide your building surveyor with a Start Work Notification and Authorisation - Building Work Form.

You can start work once you have received the following from your local council (Permit Authority):

• A building permit.
• Plumbing permit and.
• Planning permit if required.

Earthmoving and excavations must not be started without the start work authorisation from the building surveyor. MANUAL FORMS
Download application form

An owner-builder is someone who takes responsibility for domestic building work carried out on their own land.

If the value of the domestic building work to be undertaken is more than $16,000 you must have a certificate of consent from the VBA to be an owner-builder.

After reading the Owner-Builder Study Guide and deciding that being an owner-builder is something you would like to do, you (as the main applicant) must complete an eLearning assessment before you can submit your application for a certificate of consent to become an owner-builder.

Evidence of successfully completing the eLearning assessment (by the main applicant) must be submitted with your application.

Construction Induction Training must be undertaken and must be offered by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). For a list of recognised RTOs who can offer this training in Victoria, visit Worksafe Victoria.

ONLINE FORM
Online application form