People often use "permit" as if there were only one, and then discover halfway through a project that there are two quite different approvals, run by different decision-makers, asking different questions. Knowing which is which makes it easier to understand why a notice appears on a property, what it is for, and what it does not mean.
Two approvals, two different questions
A planning permit answers a land-use question: should this use or development happen on this land, given the rules in the local planning scheme? In Victoria those rules come from the planning scheme for the area, which sets zones, overlays and policies. The permit usually attaches to the land rather than to the person who applied, comes with conditions and endorsed plans, and does not last forever.
A building permit answers a construction question: will the building work be carried out safely and in line with the building regulations, the National Construction Code and the relevant standards? It is issued under the Building Act 1993 and is concerned with how something is built, not whether it is the right kind of development for the street.
| Planning permit | Building permit | |
|---|---|---|
| Main question | Is this use or development appropriate on this land? | Will the construction meet building regulations and standards? |
| Rules applied | The planning scheme for the area | Building regulations, the National Construction Code and Australian Standards |
| Decided by | The responsible authority, usually the local council | A building surveyor |
| Public involvement | Neighbours and others may be notified and may make submissions | Not part of the process in the same way |
| Usually comes | First, where a planning permit is required | After the planning permit, and consistent with it |
Which comes first
Where a planning permit is required, a building permit generally cannot be issued until the planning permit has been obtained, and the building permit has to be consistent with the planning permit's conditions and endorsed plans. That is why many projects spend weeks or months in the planning stage before a building surveyor becomes involved. Not every project needs both: some changes need only one, and some need neither, which is why the first step is always to ask the council whether a permit is required and which provisions of the planning scheme apply.
Why public notice belongs to the planning side
When the responsible authority decides that people other than the applicant could be affected by a proposal, it can require the application to be advertised. Advertising may include letters to nearby owners and occupiers, a sign on the land, a newspaper notice or another method, and the authority decides which methods apply to the application. The purpose is to give potentially affected people the chance to look at the proposal and make a submission before the decision is made.
That is the notice you see on a fence or frontage: a sign saying that a planning application has been lodged. It is not a building permit, it does not mean the work has been approved, and it does not mean construction is about to start. It means the planning decision has not yet been made and the public has a window in which to respond.
What this means for applicants and consultants
If you are managing an application, the notice is a planning task and should be handled from the authority's planning instructions: who is responsible for the sign, what it must say, where it goes and how long it stays. Keeping that separate from building-permit paperwork avoids the common mistake of treating the two as one process with one set of dates.
If you have been asked to arrange the physical notice, send us the instructions and the notice file and we will quote for the installation, photographs and removal that the authority has asked for. We do not advise on whether an application needs a permit or notice; that is a question for the responsible authority.
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