
Building Certifiacte – It is likely that you will need a building certificate as well as a development application. What you say… Do I need two types of approvals? Depending on your local government rules and procedure it often takes more effort to do a retrospective approval process than if the right procedures had been followed prior to construction. We can help you navigate the right approval process.
Timing of Application – It will be important to get the timing right in terms of whether a development application is lodged at the same time as a building certificate or if they are lodged in sequence. The wrong move here can unstick you.
Keep Moving Forward – The key here is to keep moving forward. If you have unauthorised building works then it means in the even of an accident, fire or flood, your insurance company will not cover you. Insurance policies do not cover ‘illegal building works’. So its really important that you keep moving forward and get the right approvals in place. Don’t leave it any longer.
Building Code Of Australia – The challenge with building work completed that actually needed approval is that we now need to prove to council that the works were done in accordance with the Australian Building Code. Whilst a normal construction would have a private certifier or council certifier do periodic inspections and effectively ‘take ownership’ of the building works, where the construction has occurred without approval it means the onus shifts to the landowner to prove the works have been done in accordance with the Australian Building Code. We handle so many of these that we have a proven systematic way to do this.