Building Regs Explained
Planning vs building approval, the NCC, statutory warranties, handover and site waste — the lay of the land.
Two different approvals trip people up: planning (can you do this here?) and building (is it built to code?). The National Construction Code sets the technical standard, each state runs the approvals, and getting the order wrong stalls the job — or leaves you with work that won't certify. Here's the lay of the land.
Planning vs building approval
Planning approval — a DA, or complying development where it's allowed — is about whether the use and the look fit the site and the neighbours. Building approval is about whether the structure meets the National Construction Code. Most jobs need to clear planning before building sign-off, and skipping a step is the expensive way to learn the difference.
Does the work even need approval?
Plenty of small jobs are exempt or fast-tracked — a deck under a certain size, a minor reno — while others quietly need a certifier from day one. Guess wrong and you're looking at a stop-work or, worse, an order to pull it down. Check the job before you book it in.
Statutory warranties — what you're on the hook for
Do residential building work and the law writes warranties into the contract whether you mention them or not, covering structural and other defects for set periods that vary by state. Know how long you stay liable so you price the risk — and the defects period — properly.
Handover, defects and sign-off
The job isn't done at "finished" — it's done at certified and handed over, with the certificates, manuals and warranties the client's owed. A clean snag list and a proper handover pack closes the job, releases retention, and heads off the three-month phone call.
Getting rid of the waste
Construction and demo waste has to go somewhere lawful, and you should keep a record of where — both to stay onside with the state EPA and to prove it if anyone ever asks. Log each load as it leaves.