Building Planning Process

Private and municipal building surveyors carry out the statutory role of ensuring that proposed residential and commercial building projects meet relevant compliance requirements prior to issuing building permits in accordance with planning permits. This unit focuses on basic planning considerations for residential buildings in classes 1 and 10, and commercial buildings in classes 2 to 9 as defined by the National Construction Code (NCC), specifically for structures up to three storeys and no more than 2,000 square meters in floor area. It introduces students to planning and preparation required to assess planning applications, assessment of planning applications documentation, assessment of revised design plans and finalisation of planning permits.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Analyse relevant approving authority requirements for assessing and issuing planning applications and building permits and ensure adherence to relevant administrative processes;
2. Investigate relevant planning documentation, including drawings, for each building project and assess each application for compliance with relevant legislation, codes, regulations and local planning authority requirements;
3. Analyse documentation supplied by at least one external consultant for each planning application, to ensure information is accurate and complete and to determine compliance of the planning applications and building permit;
4. Assess non-compliance and propose a range of alternative solutions for client consideration; and
5. Develop and document the final building permit for each building project, noting the specific conditions and validity of the permit.