The Building Act 2016 requires the Council must keep records of all permits, certificates, authorisations and notices issued or received in relation to most categories of building, demolition and plumbing work performed after 1st January 2017. Such information is to include any plans and specifications required in order to approve or describe the work on the building.
The Council’s records may also contain details in relation to similar matters for building, demolition and plumbing work performed prior to 1st January 2017.
The building information contained in these records may be of interest or useful to the owner of the premises or to any person engaged by the owner to perform work on the building.
Not all information may be useful or relevant to your enquiry.
It will assist the Council to simplify the search and any copying process if an application for information can identify the nature of information required.
Include terms in your request description such as:
“floor plans, elevations and construction and drainage details for dwelling as originally constructed in approximately 1995 and for later alterations and additions, including free standing car port”;
“drainage diagram - details of on-site arrangements for drainage, sewage and stormwater”;
It is also useful if you indicate whether copies of these documents are required.
Please note –
1. Building designs and plans may be subject to copyright and other intellectual property rights which can restrict the purpose for which information can be reproduced and used. It is the responsibility of the owner or their agent to ensure compliance to copyright and other legal requirements when using any information made available by the Council.
2. Building information held by the Council may not comprise a complete record of all work performed in relation to an existing building on the site. Not all work requires a permit or approval under the Building Act 2016 or under the relevant predecessor legislation.
3. Building information must not be relied upon as evidence of compliance to any regulation applying for the use or development currently on the land. A section 337 certificate under the Local Government Act 1993 can be requested if you are seeking information on compliance matters.
4. Council does not provide any assurance or undertaking that –
- All or any of the information requested will be located. Subject to the age or nature of the building Council may not have been required to issue a building permit or to hold copies of the relevant information.
- All relevant documents will be located. The age, accessibility and completeness of Council records may mean some documents may not be identified or available.
- The description and detail on the information will be consistent with the building as it is currently constructed on the land. Variation may have lawfully occurred during construction; and some forms of subsequent building work may not have required a permit or notification of plans to Council.
- The quality of plan copies will enable all details and notations to be legible. The age and means by which documents are stored or recorded may result in deterioration or distortion.
5. Provision of building information does not imply Council accepts any liability for any alleged non-compliance, inaccuracy or inconsistency between the work as described on the plans and the current or past construction of the building.