If you’re looking to undertake a building project it can be difficult to find straight forward information on the steps you need to go through to obtain a set of suitable documents required for town planning approval, subsequent costing by builders and ultimately a building permit. The following describes this process and outlines A R B Drafting’s involvement in getting you what you need to move into the construction phase of your project with confidence.

 

Note: A full scope of services is attached to any fee letter sent to clients during the Mobilisation stage.

 

Understand your position

​You’ve made the decision to build. You might be thinking new house on a vacant lot, extension to an existing house, some renovation works or perhaps a commercial development. You’ve got a budget in mind which will help determine the scale of your project. What next? At this point it is important to understand that you will require one or more permits to be able to build your project. The first is a Town Planning (TP) Permit which responds to State and Local Planning policies regarding such things as building mass, overlooking and overshadowing onto neighbouring properties, materials and finishes and daylight coming into the building. The second is a Building Permit which assesses the proposed building against the National Construction Code and Australian Standards. These codes and standards ensure the works are carried out using best possible building practices. The TP Permit application occurs well before the Building Permit application.

 

So how do I find out about the TP policies affecting my project? Consider these 2 options:

 

1. Speak directly to the Town Planner at your local Council and get them to confirm what you can and cannot do on your preferred site. This is a good option if your project is relatively simple,

2. Engage a Town Planning Consultant who will cover off all TP related issues pertaining to your project. This is the preferred option if your project or site are more complex.

 

Note that not all projects will require a TP permit. Larger sites with no Overlays (Heritage, Environmental, Flood, etc) may allow you to proceed directly to a Building Permit application. You will need to confirm this with your local Town Planner or TP Consultant.

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Where a TP Permit is required, A R B Drafting will advise that the client engage a TP Consultant to provide advice and ultimately prepare a TP Report to accompany the drawing set as part of the TP Permit application. TP Reports are not within the scope of services provided by A R B Drafting. More on this below. 

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So by now you should’ve found out if a TP Permit is required for your project and for what reasons. With this information at hand A R B Drafting would suggest an initial meeting to discuss moving your project forward into the design phase and beyond.

 

First meeting and fee proposal

This initial meeting is at no charge to you. It’s an opportunity for everyone to meet and for A R B Drafting to get a first hand account of the brief, budget and the existing conditions on site. A R B Drafting will also lay out the process moving forward, as described hereunder.

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Soon after this A R B Drafting will provide a fee proposal outlining the services to be provided and associated costs. Approval of the fee proposal would mark the start of the Mobilisation stage.

 

Mobilisation

​A primary aim of this stage is to put in place an accurate set of existing conditions documents. You may have existing drawings of the property and buildings within it which would assist A R B Drafting in establishing the documents in CAD format. Otherwise A R B Drafting would undertake a measure-up of the property to create the documents from scratch. An accurate set of existing conditions drawings is critical for moving confidently into subsequent stages.

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Please note some sites and associated buildings can be particularly complex and difficult to measure accurately. In some circumstances it may be necessary to engage a Land Surveyor to provide an accurate digital survey of features and levels across the site. It may also be necessary to engage a Land Surveyor to accurately locate the title boundaries in relation to existing fences and/or buildings. A R B Drafting will advise of this accordingly.

 

Concept Design

​A R B Drafting would prepare a Concept Design (floor plan and elevations) based on the information obtained during Mobilisation. This would occur regardless of whether a TP Permit was required or whether your project was able to progress straight to Building Permit application. This may require further discussion with the TP Consultant to ensure the proposal complies with the relevant TP policies (if a TP Permit is required). The Concept Design would be presented for your review and comment and changes would be incorporated. A R B Drafting would also prepare a cost estimate based on building size and applicable square meter construction rates for comparison with your budget, however this should be used as a rough guide only. A R B Drafting will advise engaging a Cost Planner or even a Builder to provide more accurate pricing at key stages.

 

A R B Drafting would obtain your approval of the Concept Design in order to move to the next stage.

 

Town Planning application drawings (if required)

​If a TP Permit is not required please skip to the next stage.

 

If a TP Permit is required A R B Drafting would prepare (from the Concept Design documents) a drawing set suitable for submission to the local Council as part of a TP Permit application. Other documents would include the TP Report prepared by the Town Planning consultant.

 

The TP drawing set would be presented for your review and comment and any final changes would be incorporated. Note that the TP Consultant would collate all information and submit the actual application to Council.

 

It is not uncommon for Councils to make requests for further information (RFIs) following an initial review of the application documents. A R B Drafting would provide any amendments to the drawing set in a timely manner to keep the application moving forward.

 

The assessment of TP Permit applications can take some time. All communications regarding the progress of your application would go through the TP Consultant.

 

Council approval of the TP Permit application would allow the next stage to begin.

 

Design Development

​This stage sees the development of the TP approved documents into a drawing set suitable for distribution to relevant consultants. A R B Drafting can advise of suitable Civil and Structural Engineers, Building Surveyors, Energy Consultants and any other consultants that may be required at this time and would require that you engage these consultants directly.

 

A R B Drafting would liaise directly with all consultants to ensure relevant information is coordinated into the Design Development set of drawings and to ensure that drawings continue to comply with Town Planning policies and Building Codes.

 

Design Development documents would consist of plans, elevations, sections, preliminary joinery plans and elevations and preliminary finishes and fittings schedules. These documents would again be presented for your review and comment and any changes would be incorporated.

 

The cost estimate would be updated according to the building size and applicable square meter construction rates, but again this should only be used as a guide. More accurate pricing information should be provided by a Cost Planner or Builder as mentioned above.

 

A R B Drafting would obtain your approval of the Design Development set of documents in order to move to the next stage.

 

Construction Documentation

​This stage sees the development of the Design Development documents into a drawing set suitable for either Tender by builders and/or application for Building Permit.

 

A R B Drafting would liaise further with the various consultants through the documentation stage to ensure their information is integrated into the drawing set. Consultants will also be asked to provide certification of their work which will form part of the Building Permit application.

 

This stage would also see the completion of the schedules (finishes, fittings) as well as the completion of the Project Specification, a document outlining the requirements of each trade in meeting the relevant codes and standards.

 

A typical construction drawing set would consist of:

·        Floor plans, elevations and sections,

·        Construction details at larger scale,

·        Window and door schedules,

·        Joinery and wet area plans and elevations,

·        Finishes and Fittings schedules,

·        Project Specification.

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During this stage the drawings would be issued to the Building Surveyor for comment. Generally the Building Surveyor provides a list of information to be added into the documents to enable a Building Permit to be issued. Note however that the application for Building Permit does not occur immediately. More on this below. 

 

A R B Drafting would split this stage into 2 halves, with a client review at 50% complete (generally to review joinery and wet areas) and a final review at 100% complete.

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A R B Drafting would obtain your approval of the Construction set of documents in order to move to the next stage. Note also that this is the last fixed fee stage provided by A R B Drafting. Services rendered during subsequent stages will be charged at hourly rates. See also FEES.

 

Post-Documentation

Traditionally at this point the Construction set of documents would be issued to a selected list of builders for a competitive tender, aka the Tender stage. A R B Drafting can assist with the assessment of the tender prices received but takes no responsibility for any difference in cost between the indicative estimates given at earlier stages and the actual cost provided by the Builder. As previously stated the indicative estimates should only be used as a guide and should not replace information provided by a Cost Planner or Builder.

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An alternative to a competitive Tender is to select only one Builder to provide a price. An obvious disadvantage here is that the Builder knows there is no competition and may price accordingly. But engaging a single Builder early on in the process, even at Concept Design stage, has the obvious advantage of certainty of pricing from the beginning. Further to this a nominated Builder can provide cost saving advice throughout the process.

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(With an agreed price in place a Building Contract can be signed. A Builder generally needs a Building Contract in order to provide Home Owners Warranty Insurance, and in turn the Building Surveyor needs that Insurance certificate in order to issue a Building Permit).

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Note the sequence of events from the end of the Construction Documentation stage onwards:

 

PRICING

At the end of the Construction Documentation stage the drawings will be relabelled “Pricing” and issued to you for your negotiations with either your chosen builder, or multiple builders in a Tender situation. These drawings can be changed during the Pricing stage with the end goal being a drawing set reflecting an agreed final construction price. A R B Drafting will provide the Pricing Set of drawings to you in PDF format. Note any changes to the Pricing drawings will need to be reviewed by the Building Surveyor and given preliminary approval before moving to Contract signing.

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CONTRACT

The final Pricing drawings will be relabelled “Contract” and will form part of the Contract documents. Once signed these documents must not be altered and should be kept in a safe place by all parties. These documents represent the agreed starting point of the Construction stage. A R B Drafting will provide the Contract Set of drawings to you in PDF format.

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BUILDING PERMIT

The final Pricing drawings will also be relabelled into a “Building Permit” set and will form part of the Building Permit application. By this stage the Building Surveyor will have reviewed the revised Pricing drawings and provided preliminary approval. As such there should be no reason to make changes to the Building Permit drawings and they too, once approved, should be kept unaltered in a safe place. A R B Drafting will provide the Building Permit Set of drawings to you in PDF format.

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CONSTRUCTION

A copy of the approved Building Permit drawings will be relabelled “Construction” and will be used as the reference set for the construction of the building. This set will be kept on site at all times by the Builder and can be changed as circumstances require. A R B Drafting will provide the original Construction Set of drawings to you in PDF format. Whilst I do not provide project management services I can provide changes to drawings as required during construction.

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AS BUILT

At the end of construction the final Construction drawings, with any changes, will be relabelled “As Built” and provided to you. This set represents the building in its final form. A R B Drafting will provide the As Built Set of drawings to you in PDF format.

 

Indicative timing per stage

(Note: Assumes normal workload. Time variances relate to size and complexity of project)

 

Mobilisation: 1-2 weeks

Concept Design: 2-4 weeks

Town Planning application drawings: 2-3 weeks

Town Planning assessment period: Refer advice from TP Consultant or Council

Design Development: 3-6 weeks

Construction Documentation: 4-8 weeks

Tender/Pricing process: Generally 4 weeks

Contract price negotiation and Contract signing: 2-3 weeks

Building Permit application drawings: 1 week

Building Permit assessment period: Refer advice from Building Surveyor

Construction Stage: Varies.

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As mentioned above these time periods are indicative only. Every project is unique. A R B Drafting takes no responsibility for delays caused by unforeseen circumstances.