I am Stephen Ryan, a registered Building Surveyor, with over 35 years of professional experience. This includes working as a municipal surveyor in both urban and regional councils. I have worked for over 10 years in the private sector. 

 

 My experience includes involvement in many large commercial and residential projects in Melbourne, as well as residential dwellings and smaller commercial, industrial and institutional building in regional Victoria.

 

 Over the past 4 decades of my time in the industry, building designs and certification processes have become increasingly complex. 

Energy efficiency and thermal performance for all new buildings, as well as bushfire construction requirements in rural and coastal areas, must all be considered in the design and certification processes.

Building materials available for use within a new building, renovation, or extension; must also be considered and have changed over time. It is highly advisable to contact and appoint a building surveyor prior to selecting a designer.

 I would highly recommend contacting a Building surveyor again after the preliminary design is done. This is to enable legislative requirements to be managed during the design and certification process and will get your building work started legally and without needing to go backwards or incurring extra costs.

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Why do you need to appoint a building surveyor?

 If you want to build in Victoria, you need a building permit.
The only person who can issue a building permit is a registered building surveyor.
You may need a planning permit before building. This is dependent on where your land lies and the extent of the works.

 - If you aren't sure whether you will need a planning permit, you need to enquire with the local governing council. 

 A planning permit must be issued before a building permit for compliance.

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A building surveyor is an independent certifier of design documents. The building surveyor is required to be appointed by the property owner, or a person authorised (in writing) by the owner to act for them in the building permit process (section 17, Building Act 1993).

​A building surveyor must certify that the documents comply with the law; regardless of any external pressures by owners, designers, or builders. The documents must comply with the minimum design requirements of the National Construction Code.

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Depending on the type of works, there are typically at least 4 inspections by a building surveyor at the different stages of construction after a building permit is issued:

1. Foundation 

2. Reinforcement

3. Frame

4. Final
Sometimes there are more than one of any of these types of inspection depending on the design, contractors, and materials used.

The purpose of these inspections is to ensure your safety and that the building works are compliant with the materials and design that have been legally approved.

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