In short
Tasmania sorts building work into four categories under the Director's Determination. Categories 1 and 2 are low risk and need no building surveyor. Category 3 is notifiable work, approved by a building surveyor's Certificate of Likely Compliance. Category 4 also needs a council building permit. Engineering comes in when the structure is designed or repaired: underpinning, raised decks, retaining walls over the low-risk limits and extensions.
Key takeaways
- Four categories: low risk (1 and 2), notifiable (3) and permit (4). Work not listed in Categories 1 to 3 is permit work.
- Low-risk work in a bushfire, landslip, flood or coastal hazard area becomes notifiable. Some house work in High hazard bands becomes permit work.
- Some rules require an engineer's design outright, such as retaining walls up to 1.8 m. Notifiable structural work needs design documents the building surveyor can assess.
- Glenorchy City Council's building permits lapse if work hasn't started within 12 months, and work must be finished within 24 months.
The first approval question in Tasmania is which category the work falls into. The answer decides who may do the work, whether a building surveyor is involved and whether council issues a permit. The categories come from the Director's Determination: Categories of Building and Demolition Work, made under the Building Act 2016. Version 1.4 has applied since 12 April 2021. Your building surveyor will confirm whether a newer version applies to your job.
Building approvals in Tasmania: quick facts
- Low risk
- Categories 1 and 2: no building surveyor, Form 80 for some items
- Notifiable
- Category 3: building surveyor's Certificate of Likely Compliance
- Permit
- Category 4: Certificate of Likely Compliance plus a council permit
- Hazard areas
- Low-risk work there becomes notifiable
- Engineer designed
- Required for retaining walls up to 1.8 m (Category 2)
- Work of $20,000 or more
- Training levy and Building Administration Fee apply
What are the four categories of building work in Tasmania?
The four categories are Category 1 and Category 2 low-risk work, Category 3 notifiable work and Category 4 permit work, and the checks rise with the risk. Anything not listed in Categories 1 to 3 is permit work by default.
| Category | Who can do the work | Approval before work starts | Paperwork |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Low risk | An owner, a competent person or a licensed builder | None, within the size limits and Standard Limitations | Form 80 to council for some items |
| 2. Low risk | A licensed builder (a competent person only where the clause allows) | None, within the limits | Form 80 for some items |
| 3. Notifiable | A licensed builder | Building surveyor's Certificate of Likely Compliance, given to council | Form 35 from each designer, Notice of Work, inspections |
| 4. Permit | A licensed builder, or an owner with an owner builder permit | Certificate of Likely Compliance, then a council building permit | As for notifiable work, plus the permit |
Source: Director's Determination v1.4. An owner doing work that isn't owner low-risk work needs an owner builder permit and a separate council building permit.
Planning is a separate question. The Determination says there is no connection between planning approval and the building category, so a job can need a planning permit and not a building permit, or the other way round.
Which category do common home projects fall into?
Most small outdoor structures are low risk within set sizes, while structural repairs, underpinning, raised decks, larger retaining walls and pools are notifiable. The table lists only items the Determination spells out.
| Work | Low risk when | Otherwise |
|---|---|---|
| Deck | Non-roofed, floor less than 1 m above the ground beneath (1.3.5) | Notifiable (3.1.2) |
| Pergola, garden arch, trellis | Up to 36 m² and 3.5 m high, uncovered or permeable roof, no masonry or concrete (1.3.9) | Next category up |
| Gazebo, summer house, BBQ shelter | Up to 18 m² and 3.5 m high, single storey, no masonry or concrete (1.3.10) | Next category up |
| Verandah or porch | Up to 18 m², floor less than 1 m above the ground, licensed builder, Form 80 (2.1.2) | Notifiable |
| Shed, garage or carport | Up to 18 m² built on site (1.3.1); up to 36 m² as an engineer-designed kit, Form 80 (1.3.2); up to 36 m² and 9 m span by a licensed builder (2.3.1) | Notifiable (3.1.1) |
| Fence or freestanding wall | Masonry or concrete up to 1.2 m, other fences up to 2.1 m, chain link up to 3 m (1.3.6 to 1.3.8) | Notifiable (3.1.4) |
| Retaining wall | Up to 0.5 m retained within 1.5 m of a boundary, road or right of way, otherwise 1.2 m (1.3.14); up to 1.8 m if engineer designed and built by a licensed builder (2.3.2) | Notifiable (3.1.3) |
| Internal non-load-bearing wall | Licensed builder, if no fire-rated wall is affected (2.1.1) | Notifiable alteration (3.0.1) |
| Load-bearing wall or other structural alteration | Only if a building surveyor assesses it as minor (2.8.1) | Notifiable alteration (3.0.1) |
| Repairs | Like-for-like, non-structural (1.0.1); other repairs that don't affect structural soundness, but not replacing piers or stumps (2.0.1) | Major structural repairs are notifiable (3.0.3) |
| Underpinning a house | Never low risk | Notifiable (3.0.4) |
| Swimming pool or spa, and barrier | Only a relocatable pool up to 9 m², once a barrier is in place (1.3.11) | Notifiable (3.1.8) |
| New house, addition or alteration | Never low risk | Notifiable up to two storeys (3.0.1); permit work in the cases below |
Clause numbers from the Director's Determination v1.4. Every low-risk item must also meet the Standard Limitations (cut and fill, hazard areas, easements, fire separation). Confirm the category with your building surveyor.
How do hazard areas and easements change the category?
Work in a bushfire, landslip, coastal inundation, coastal erosion or flood-prone hazard area moves from low risk to notifiable, and a new house, addition or alteration becomes permit work in a High landslip band, a High coastal erosion or inundation band, or at BAL-40 or Flame Zone. Check your property on ListMap, as West Tamar Council advises, or ask your building surveyor.
The Standard Limitations also take work out of low risk when it:
- cuts or fills more than 500 mm within 1.5 m of a boundary, or more than 1.2 m elsewhere (1.8 m for a licensed builder)
- sits over an existing drain or within 1 m of its edge, without the council general manager's written consent
- sits in a service easement without the consent of the person it benefits, or within 2 m of TasWater infrastructure
- is a shed or garage that doesn't meet the fire separation distances to the boundary or the house
Small work, big site constraint
West Tamar Council's example: a 1 m high retaining wall isn't low-risk work if it sits in an easement, and the same applies in a landslip hazard band. Hobart's documented landslide areas include Rosetta, in Glenorchy, and Taroona. Read building in a landslip area and building over a stormwater easement.
We don't prepare bushfire attack level assessments: a bushfire hazard practitioner prepares that. We do prepare landslip reports and the structural design that follows.
When does Tasmanian building work need an engineer?
Some low-risk work must be engineer designed by rule, and notifiable or permit work needs design documents the building surveyor can assess, which for structural work is usually an engineer's design. Under the Building Act 2016, designers must provide documents good enough to assess the work and for a licensed builder to build it.
Is the job on the low-risk list, within its size limits?
Check the table above and the Standard Limitations.
Yes: go to the next questionNo: notifiable or permit work, so a building surveyor is needed and the structure needs a designerIs the site in a hazard band, an easement or within 1 m of a drain?
Landslip, bushfire, flood and coastal bands all count.
Yes: notifiable or permit workNo: go to the next questionDoes the clause say "engineer designed", or does the work touch load-bearing parts?
Retaining walls up to 1.8 m, beams, footings, stumps and bracing are the usual ones.
Yes: an engineer's designNo: low-risk work, with a Form 80 if the clause requires it
Underpinning is the clearest notifiable example: the Determination notes that it may need a site and soil test to AS 2870 and an engineer's design before work starts. The same thinking applies to underpinning, load-bearing wall removal, raised decks, pools, retaining walls and extensions.
Which forms, fees and certificates will you see?
For notifiable or permit work you will usually see a Form 35 from each designer, a Notice of Work from the builder, the building surveyor's Certificate of Likely Compliance and, at the end, a certificate of completion.
- Form 35
- Certificate of the Responsible Designer, required with each application for a Certificate of Likely Compliance.
- Form 55
- Certificate of Qualified Person – Assessable Item, for items such as a geotechnical report or an as-built structural check.
- Form 80
- Notification of Low Risk Work, lodged with council where a low-risk clause says council must be told.
- Levy and Building Administration Fee
- Building work of $20,000 or more attracts the Building and Construction Industry Training Levy and a Building Administration Fee, in any category.
We provide Form 35 and Form 55 certificates, with Form 55 from $350 + GST.
How long does a building permit last in Tasmania?
Glenorchy City Council says a building permit lapses if work hasn't started within 12 months of issue, and all work must be completed within 24 months; an extension can be sought before the 24 months run out. The Building Act 2016 makes the owner responsible for finishing the work before the permit expires or for having it extended. Read the conditions on your own permit, because each one carries its own.
When to call a structural engineer
Call an engineer as soon as you know the job touches the structure, before the drawings go to the building surveyor. Changing a design after lodgement costs time.
- A retaining wall above 0.5 m near a boundary or 1.2 m elsewhere
- A load-bearing wall to remove, or a new opening in one
- Underpinning, restumping or another structural repair
- A landslip band or easement on your title or ListMap
- Your building surveyor wants a Form 35, a Form 55 or calculations
Not sure where your job sits? Start with do I need a structural engineer or a building surveyor?
Need an engineer?
Does your job need an engineer's design?
Send photos or plans. Our fixed quote, within 1–2 business hours, says what the building surveyor will need from us.
Sources
- Director of Building Control, Director's Determination: Categories of Building and Demolition Work, version 1.4. Applies from 12 April 2021. Category tables, Standard Limitations, General Requirements and Category 4 rules
- Building Act 2016 (Tas)
- Glenorchy City Council, Do I need a building permit?. Permit valid 12 months from issue; work completed within 24 months
- West Tamar Council, Building. Summary of Categories 1 to 4, ListMap hazard check and the easement example
- Building Standards Tasmania (formerly CBOS), Use of approved Form 35
- Tasmanian Planning Scheme, State Planning Provisions, C15.0 Landslip Hazard Code