Building Permit Fees and Charges Explained

The following three types of fees form the payment required when applying for a building permit.  The amounts charged depend on the value and scope of your project.  

Lodgement fee

Projects over $5,000 incur a lodgement fee which is set by the Victorian State Government under the Building Regulations 2018.  

The lodgement fee covers Council’s costs to store your application records.

• The Building permit levy and Building permit fees will apply and are determined by the permit type required. 
• Council will invoice you for these fees once we have confirmed your projects details.

The lodgement fee must be paid when lodging your application.

Building permit levy

Projects over $10,000 incur a building permit levy fee which is set and charged by the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC). 

• The levy charged is calculated by total cost of works x 0.00128 cents (GST not applicable).
• Council will usually collect this levy on behalf of the BPC.  However, in some instances the BPC may invoice you directly and Council will notify you if this applies to your permit.

Your building permit cannot be issued by Council until the building permit levy has been paid.

Building permit fees

Council sets the building permit fees annually.

The building permit fees cover:

• Councils’ technical assessment of your application.
• Inspections required during the building process.

Once your building permit fees have been paid a Council building practitioner will commence the assessment of your application.