Planning Permit vs Building Permit: What's the Difference in Victoria?

Here’s what you need to know

‘Do I need a permit?’ is one of the first questions people ask us. Until you’ve actually been through the process, it’s easy to assume there’s just one permit standing between you and a granny flat. There are actually two, and they ask very different questions. This is Victorian planning law specifically, so if you’re building elsewhere in Australia, the rules may look quite different.

The planning permit

A planning permit is about whether your proposal suits the land itself. Council looks at zoning, overlays, neighbourhood character and how the building sits on the block – setbacks, height, privacy, that sort of thing. It’s issued by your local council, and it’s really a question of ‘is this appropriate here?’

The building permit

A building permit is about whether what gets built is actually safe and compliant. It covers structural soundness, energy efficiency, fire safety and liveability standards – the technical detail of construction rather than the site. It’s issued by a registered building surveyor, and unlike the planning permit, there are no exceptions. Every home, granny flat or second dwelling needs one.

What changed in 2023

Since December 2023, under Amendment VC253, most small second dwellings up to 60 square metres no longer need a planning permit, provided there’s no flooding, environmental or other special overlay affecting the land. It’s part of the Victorian Government’s broader push to make small second homes easier to build, and for a lot of homeowners, it’s genuinely removed a step that used to put people off the idea altogether.

Exempt from a planning permit doesn’t mean permit-free

This is where the confusion tends to creep in. Losing the planning permit requirement doesn’t mean the paperwork disappears – it just means one part of it does. The building permit is still always required, and it still checks all the things that keep a home safe to live in. Nothing about the exemption changes that.

Where the planning permit can still apply

A few things can bring the planning permit back into the picture, and they’re worth checking early rather than assuming your project is exempt:

• Overlays – bushfire, heritage, flooding or environmental overlays can all trigger a planning permit requirement, even for a small second dwelling. These are particularly relevant across parts of the Mornington Peninsula, given the coastal and bushfire-prone geography.

• Lot size – on a residential block under 300 square metres, a planning permit is typically still required, and the Clause 54 residential development standards apply as part of that assessment.

The safest approach is to check your specific property rather than assume, since overlays and zoning vary block by block, not just suburb by suburb.

Where independent advice helps

This is exactly the kind of terminology and process confusion we exist to untangle at Seed. We’re not attached to a builder or a particular outcome, so when we talk you through what applies to your land, it’s based on what’s actually true for your site – not what moves a sale along.

If you’re at the start of this process and not sure which permit applies to you, that’s a good conversation to have before you spend a cent on plans.

Two permits, one property, and no reason you should need a law degree to work out which one applies to you.