As-Built
Documentation
Drawings and permit documentation for work that has already been built — by you, or by a previous owner. If a building surveyor or council has asked what is actually there, this is the set of documents that answers it.
Four Situations That Bring People Here
A building notice about a previous owner's work
You bought the property and have since been served over something you did not build — commonly a garage or carport converted to a habitable room, an enclosed verandah, a deck, or a bathroom added without a permit.
Work you carried out without a permit
Something was built — perhaps years ago, perhaps on advice that no permit was needed — and it now has to be documented and assessed.
A sale that has surfaced the problem
A purchaser's building inspection, a conveyancer's search, or the section 32 vendor statement has revealed work with no permit behind it, and it needs resolving.
Construction that departed from the approved plans
A project underway where what was built no longer matches the endorsed documentation, and amended drawings are needed to bring the two back together.
There Is No Retrospective Building Permit in Victoria
What is not possible
A building surveyor may only issue a building permit for work that has not yet been carried out. There is no mechanism that reaches back and permits something already built, so any advice that you can simply “apply for a permit retrospectively” is using the wrong name for the process.
The route used instead
A building permit covering the completion or rectification of the works. The remaining work is what the permit authorises; the existing work is documented in support. Regulation 24(1)(g) of the Building Regulations 2018 requires an application to alter an existing building to include drawings that clearly differentiate the existing building from the proposed work — which is why as-built drawings come first. Depending on what was built, the application may also need structural computations, a soil report, and certificates of compliance under section 238 of the Building Act 1993.
From Notice to Resolution
Read the notice
We look at what has actually been alleged, which provisions are cited, and what date you are working to. If an extension of time is worth requesting, it is best asked for before the date passes rather than after.
Measure and draw what exists
A site measure of the work as built, turned into plans, elevations and sections. Where there is no permit behind the work there are usually no drawings at all, so this is the step that makes everything after it possible.
Assess it against the standards
What complies as built, what may not, and what could bring it into compliance. For a converted garage this typically covers matters such as ceiling height, natural light and ventilation, weatherproofing, energy rating and any car parking the planning scheme requires.
Design the rectification
Where something does not comply, we document what would fix it — and where more than one option exists, set them out so you can weigh cost against disruption before committing.
Assemble the permit documentation
The application set, and coordination of the consultants it depends on — structural engineer, energy rater, land surveyor, soil testing — so the package reaches your building surveyor complete rather than in instalments.
Through to sign-off
We stay on it through the surveyor's assessment, answering requests for further information and issuing revised documentation, until the matter is resolved.
Two Things Worth Knowing Before You Call Anyone
You do not have to use an architect
Victoria reserves the title “architect”, not the practice of building design. A registered building designer or a draftsperson may prepare as-built documentation, and for a straightforward job they may well quote less than we will. If your building surveyor has told you to engage “a building designer or draftsperson”, they were describing the field accurately.
What we offer instead of a claim to exclusivity: we have run this pathway from building notice through to a permitted resolution, including the consultant coordination and the surveyor liaison, and we can tell you early which of the possible outcomes your situation is likely to land in.
Not every unpermitted conversion has to come out
Removal is one possible outcome, not the default one. Where the work can be shown to meet the relevant standards, or brought up to them with defined rectification, the usual path is a permit for the completion of the works.
Which outcome applies is a matter for the relevant building surveyor and depends on the specifics. It cannot be determined from the notice alone, and anyone who tells you the answer before measuring the building is guessing.
Frequently Asked Questions
A measured survey of the existing work, turned into a drawing set — site plan, floor plans, elevations and sections showing what is physically there. Where the work is to be regularised, the set also differentiates the existing building from any proposed work, which regulation 24(1)(g) of the Building Regulations 2018 requires for a permit application to alter an existing building.
A fixed fee, quoted before we start — not an hourly rate and not an open-ended engagement. We quote once we have seen the notice and the extent of the work, because those two things drive the scope far more than the size of the property does. A single converted garage documented for a permit application is a materially smaller job than a whole-of-house as-built set with rectification design, and it is not useful to quote both from the same number.
The work is quoted in two stages, and you can stop after the first. Stage one is the measured as-built drawings and the compliance assessment — the part that establishes what you are actually dealing with. Stage two is the permit documentation, quoted on the strength of stage one, once there is something real to price. If stage one shows the work substantially complies, stage two may be small.
Consultant fees — engineer, energy rater, soil test — and the building permit and council fees are separate, quoted by those parties and paid to them. We will tell you which of them your matter is likely to need before you commit.
Documentation timeframes depend on the extent of the work and on how quickly the supporting consultants can report. What generally matters more than speed is that the issuing surveyor knows you are acting: telling them you have engaged someone, and requesting an extension of time before the stated date passes, is usually more productive than arriving late with a complete set.
A building notice is served on the current owner of the building or land, regardless of who carried out the work or when. Whether you have 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.
If the work touches common property — and converted garages in unit developments often do, through walls, roofing or drainage — the owners corporation is likely to have an interest, and its consent may be needed before rectification works proceed. It is worth establishing early whether the affected area is common property or lot property, because it changes who has to agree to what.
Yes — we work across all 31 metropolitan Melbourne councils.
Tell Us What the Notice Says
Describe the work and what you have been asked for, and we will tell you what documentation it needs and the likely pathway — before you commit to anything. We will come back to you with somewhere to send the notice itself and any photos.
Get in touchBefore You Respond
What to do when you receive a building notice
The show cause process, your response window, and what a response has to establish.
Building notice vs building order
Which instrument you are holding, and what changes when a notice becomes an order.
Garage conversions in Melbourne
What a compliant conversion involves, including the standards an existing one is assessed against.
This page provides general information about Victorian building compliance. It is not advice on a particular notice, and the pathway available in any given case is a matter for the relevant building surveyor. SQM Architects, ABN 32 600 928 390, ARBV Reg. No. 51498.
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