In short
A structural engineer in Taroona usually starts with the ground. Mineral Resources Tasmania has studied the Taroona Landslide Complex, and a 1977 MRT report put Taroona house damage down mainly to expansive clay, moisture change and inadequate foundations. Building in a mapped landslip band moves work up an approval category. Crack reports start from $590 + GST; landslip reports are fixed-quoted within 1–2 business hours.
Structural engineer Taroona: local facts
- Council
- Kingborough Council
- Landslide area
- The Taroona Landslide Complex, documented by MRT (2001 study) and a 2002 Coffey report
- School Creek
- A 2014 GHD report covers the School Creek / Channel Highway landslide
- Clays
- MRT (1977): Taroona house damage caused mainly by expansive clay, moisture change and inadequate foundations
- Reports
- Landslip hazard reports by a geotechnical practitioner to AGS 2007, with an AS 1726-2017 site investigation
Is Taroona a landslip area?
Parts of Taroona are a documented landslide area. Mineral Resources Tasmania calls it the Taroona Landslide Complex, and it has been studied in detail: an MRT study in 2001, a Coffey report in 2002, and a 2014 GHD report on the School Creek / Channel Highway landslide.
That doesn't make every Taroona block unstable, and it doesn't mean you can't build. It means the ground has to be checked properly before you design. Start with LISTmap, which shows whether your lot sits in a band on the Landslip Hazard Code overlay, then bring the result to your building surveyor and to us.
How do landslip bands change building approvals in Taroona?
A landslip band moves building work up a category: low-risk work inside a band becomes notifiable, and Class 1 work (a house) in a high band becomes permit work. For building work, the bands are handled through the building landslip determination; low and medium-band development that needs Building Act approval is exempt from the planning code itself.
| Band | What MRT says it means | Effect on building work |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Doesn't mean a landslide has happened | Low-risk work becomes notifiable |
| Medium | Doesn't mean a landslide has happened | Low-risk work becomes notifiable |
| Medium-active | Known recent activity | Low-risk work becomes notifiable |
| High | A declared Landslip A area | Class 1 work becomes permit work |
Tasmanian Planning Scheme SPP C15 Landslip Hazard Code; Mineral Resources Tasmania landslip fact sheet; Director's Determination, Categories of Building and Demolition Work (v1.4). The Landslide Planning Map has five bands; the lowest, Acceptable, carries no landslip controls. MRT finished an updated version of the mapping in December 2025 that is intended to replace the current statutory maps, so check the band shown on LISTmap for your lot.
Retaining walls are a common trap. A wall that would be low risk elsewhere is no longer low risk inside a landslip band, so even a modest garden wall in Taroona may need a design and a building surveyor. See retaining wall design.
What goes into a Taroona landslip report?
A landslip hazard report assesses the risk the proposed work faces and creates, using the Australian Geomechanics Society's Landslide Risk Management guidelines (AGS 2007), backed by a site investigation to AS 1726-2017. It is prepared by a geotechnical practitioner, and a licensed Engineer – Civil qualifies.
- Site investigation: boreholes and soil logging, with fieldwork by [geotechnical partner]
- Risk assessment for the house, the people in it and neighbouring land
- Design measures such as footing depth, drainage and how cuts and fills are retained
- Form 55 for the building surveyor where the report is an assessable item
Our landslip reports are fixed-quoted, and our guide to landslip areas in Hobart explains the bands in more detail. Get a landslip report quote.
Are cracks in Taroona houses from clay or from the slope?
Often the clay. A 1977 Mineral Resources Tasmania report found that house damage in Taroona was caused mainly by expansive clay, moisture change and inadequate foundations. So a crack in a Taroona house is not automatically a sign of landsliding. It may come from clay drying under one corner, a leaking pipe or a footing that was never deep enough.
The difference matters, because the fixes are very different. A crack and foundation report from $590 + GST rates the cracks to AS 2870 and separates clay movement, drainage and footing problems from signs of slope movement. If slope movement is suspected, the report says so and recommends a landslip assessment.
In Blackmans Bay and Howden, the same checks apply lot by lot: look up the overlays on LISTmap before you design a deck, pool or extension, and have new footings designed to a site classification.
