No. There is no such thing as a retrospective building permit in Victoria. A building permit authorises building work to be carried out. It is not available for work that has already been completed, and no Victorian building surveyor can issue one after the fact.
That is not the end of the matter, and it is usually less serious than it sounds. Work built without a permit is generally regularised through a different route: a building permit for the remaining or rectification work, supported by documentation of what is already there. The existing work is documented; the outstanding work is what the permit authorises.
Three things are worth knowing before you speak to anyone:
- Documentation of the existing building comes first. Regulation 25(1)(g) of the Building Regulations 2018 requires an application for a building permit to alter an existing building to be accompanied by "copies of drawings and allotment plans that clearly differentiate between the existing building and the proposed building work for which the permit is sought". Where work was built without a permit there are usually no drawings at all, so this is the first thing anyone will ask for.
- A certificate about the existing work has to be based on an inspection. Under section 238 of the Building Act 1993, a building surveyor may rely on a certificate from a registered building practitioner or endorsed building engineer that building work complies. Section 238(2) requires that certificate to state that the practitioner has inspected that building work.
- If you have a building notice, check the date on it rather than assuming 30 days. Section 108 of the Building Act 1993 says a building notice may require the owner to show cause "within a specified period". The period is the one specified in your notice. Thirty days is common because it appears on the standard form, but the Act does not fix it, and the date that governs you is the one you were served with.
Why Victoria has no retrospective permit
A building permit is permission to do something. The building surveyor assessing it is forming a view about work that has not happened yet — that it will comply if it is built as documented, and that the required inspections can be carried out at the stages where they matter. Once work is finished, several of those inspection points have passed. Framing and waterproofing that are now covered cannot be inspected without opening them up.
So the question a surveyor is asked to answer changes. It is no longer "may this be built?" but "does what was built comply, and what would be needed to make it comply?" Victoria answers that second question through assessment and certification of the existing work, not by issuing a permit backwards.
The route that is actually used
The sequence below is the common shape. It varies with what was built and with the surveyor handling the matter, and some steps run in parallel.
- Establish what is physically there. A measured survey of the existing work, drawn up as a set of as-built drawings. This is the step that satisfies regulation 25(1)(g), and it is the one most owners have never had to arrange, because the work often predates them.
- Assess it against the standards that apply. A registered building surveyor forms a view on what complies, what does not, and what would bring it into compliance. Structural elements will generally need an engineer.
- Document the rectification. Whatever has to change is drawn and specified, in the same way as any other permit documentation.
- Apply for a building permit for that outstanding work. The application differentiates the existing building from the proposed work, per regulation 25(1)(g), and may be supported by structural computations, a soil report, and certificates under section 238.
- Carry out the work and complete the inspections. In some cases completed work has to be opened up so that a covered element can be inspected.
Where the trigger was a building notice, this documentation is also what a show cause response is generally built from — see what to do when you receive a building notice in Victoria.
What tends to prompt the question
In practice this arises most often on work that was done quietly, years ago, and surfaces later — commonly at sale, at a refinance, or when a neighbour raises it with the council. The recurring examples across Melbourne councils are much the same: a garage or carport converted into a habitable room, a deck or pergola, a carport enclosed, a bathroom or laundry added, or a shed converted into a studio.
Two points that catch owners out, and neither is a reflection on you:
- A building notice is served on the current owner of the building or land, regardless of who carried out the work or how long ago. Buying the property transfers that exposure. Whether you have any recourse against the vendor depends on what was disclosed in the section 32 vendor statement, and that is a question for your conveyancer or solicitor. It runs alongside the notice rather than instead of it.
- Planning and building are separate systems. Work can require a planning permit, a building permit, both, or neither. Resolving one does not resolve the other — see planning permit vs building permit.
Get the 7-point site check to run before committing to a permit application — zoning, overlays, setbacks and council red flags, in plain English. Free PDF, instant download.
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Who does what
| Role | What they do here |
|---|---|
| Relevant building surveyor | Issues the notice, assesses compliance, issues the permit for the outstanding work. Cannot prepare the documentation their own notice calls for. |
| Architect or registered building designer | Measures and documents the existing work, and documents any rectification. Victoria does not reserve this to architects — a registered building designer may also prepare it. |
| Structural engineer | Assesses and certifies structural elements, and provides computations where required. |
| Land surveyor | Establishes boundaries and levels where the position of the work is in question. |
| Conveyancer or solicitor | Advises on disclosure, the section 32 statement, and any recourse against a vendor. |
Frequently asked questions
Can you get a retrospective building permit in Victoria?
No. A building permit authorises building work to be carried out and is not available for work already completed. Work built without a permit is generally regularised through a building permit for the remaining or rectification work, supported by documentation of the existing building.
What is required to regularise building work done without a permit?
Generally: as-built drawings of the existing work, a compliance assessment by a registered building surveyor, engineering input where structure is involved, documentation of any rectification, and a building permit application for that outstanding work. Regulation 25(1)(g) of the Building Regulations 2018 requires the application to include drawings that clearly differentiate the existing building from the proposed building work.
How long do I have to respond to a building notice in Victoria?
The period specified in the notice itself. Section 108 of the Building Act 1993 provides that a building notice may require the owner to show cause within a specified period; it does not fix that period at 30 days. Thirty days appears on the standard form and is common, but the operative date is the one on the notice served on you.
Do I need an architect, or will a building designer do?
Either. Victoria does not reserve as-built or permit documentation to architects; a registered building designer may prepare it. What matters is that whoever prepares it can produce a drawing set a building surveyor will accept and can document the rectification if any is required.
The previous owner did the work. Is it still my responsibility?
A building notice is served on the current owner of the building or land, regardless of who carried out the work or when. Any recourse against the vendor depends on what was disclosed in the section 32 vendor statement, which is a conveyancing question and does not displace the obligation to respond.
Does this apply outside Melbourne's eastern suburbs?
Yes. The Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2018 apply across Victoria, and the process is the same in every municipality, though individual municipal building surveyors differ in what supporting material they ask for. SQM Architects works across all 31 metropolitan Melbourne councils.
General information about Victorian building regulation, current at August 2026. It is not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of the building surveyor handling your matter. Every property is different, and what a particular surveyor requires may differ from the general position described here. SQM Architects, ABN 32 600 928 390, ARBV Reg. No. 51498.
