Bringing more building surveyors to regional Victoria
22/10/2024We’re backing work to trial methods to make residential and commercial property development easier across Victoria’s Wimmera and Mallee regions – unlocking much needed supply.
The trial is being supported through a $200,000 grant to enable local councils to simplify services provided by certified building surveyors and investigate the feasibility of sharing the resources needed for planning and building permit requirements.
Led by Yarriambiack Shire Council, the trial will be conducted in partnership with Buloke, Hindmarsh and Loddon shires, as well as Swan Hill Rural City Council.
Building surveyors work across the state to assess building permit applications, conduct building inspections at mandatory stages and issue occupancy permits and certificates of final inspection.
They also give directions to help fix non-compliant building work and serve building notices and orders, ensuring that residential and commercial properties adhere to requirements established in the Building Act 1993, Building Regulations 2018 and National Construction Code.
Municipal bodies in the Wimmera and Mallee require greater access to surveyors so they can deliver on their strategic priorities and drive long-term economic growth.
The project will be delivered in 3 phases. It will first identify the challenges and opportunities around sharing surveying services between councils, before establishing a ‘Shared Service Hub’ to trial best-practice approaches.
The outcome of this trial will inform a feasibility study, outlining how this model can be replicated across other regional councils.
The project will run until early 2026 and stands to establish methods to boost the delivery of housing and drive economic growth across these local councils, while establishing a best practices model for regional Victoria.
Support for this project is part of the Government’s record $45 billion investment across rural and regional Victoria over the past decade to make our cities and towns even better places to live, work, stay and play.