Lismore City Council
Information on construction approvals and building compliance
Construction approvals
Before construction on any work site you must have a Construction Certificate.
Once you have your development consent, check your conditions of consent and if there is a requirement for a Construction Certificate. An application for a Construction Certificate can be made with either Council through the NSW Planning Portal “Post Consent Certificates” or a Private Principal Certifying Authority (PCA). If you haven’t already done so you will need to register for a planning portal account to start this process.
If you have received your development consent you will now need to obtain a Construction Certificate issued by Council or a Principal Certifying Authority.
Council or the PCA will check that the plans and specifications for the development proposal will comply with the relevant conditions of the consent and applicable standards including the Building Code of Australia.
If satisfactory, the certifier will issue a Construction Certificate and, where appropriate, a Fire Safety Schedule. If you choose Council as your certifier, Council will issue the Principal Certified Contract with the Construction Certificate, with a schedule of Inspection fees to be paid and the Occupation Certificate fee.
Prior to commencement of work and to appoint Lismore City Council as Principal Certifier, you must now lodge an application to ‘Appoint a Principal Certifier’ on the NSW Planning Portal and you must upload a signed copy of your Principal Certifier Contract and Insurance or Owner Builder Permit documents if required (Note: Council does not need a copy of the other documentation requested by the Portal).
Prior to booking a Completion Inspection with Council, you must now lodge an Occupation Certificate application on the NSW Planning Portal. Council will receive an email with the Occupation Certificate CFT-XXXX number. Once this is completed you can go ahead and book the final inspection. Note: There will be no fees associated with this application as the original Principal Certifier Agreement includes the fee for issuing the Occupation Certificate.
Please note: Ancillary approvals or any works that affect public roads or footpaths such as a new driveway (Section 138) or any works involving water, sewer or stormwater (Section 68) can be approved concurrently with your development approval for residential building works only. All you need to do is complete the Section 138 and Section 68 approval section on the NSW Planning Portal when applying for a Development Application. All commercial and industrial Section 138 and Section 68 approvals can be applied for on Lismore City Council’s Electronic Portal at https://lismore.nsw.gov.au/information-on-our-electronic-lodgement-system-and-pre-lodgement-advice
If you choose Council as your certifier, you will also need a PCA agreement before any work commences. A PCA must be appointed – this can be either Council or an accredited certifier.
You will need to confirm what work will be done, what fees have been paid and any other requirements before your construction begins. Council must be notified a minimum of two days prior to construction commencing.
