Want to Owner Build

ACT Planning and Land Authority laws for Owner Builders are designed to protect and support Owner Building. It is important you become familiar with your obligations as an Owner Builder

What you can build

You can build or renovate your residence or build ancillary structures around the residence, such as decks, pergolas or carports provided the building work is on your main home or ancillary to it. You may not be able to install a swimming pool, demolish a building, handle asbestos (other than stable asbestos) or perform work on a commercial building.

Only an individual can apply for an Owner Builder licence. You must own the land to be developed. Where there is more than one owner, all owners must consent to the application. It is recommended that the owner with the most appropriate skills to carry out the proposed work should be put forward as the primary applicant.

There is also a restriction on the number of Owner Builder licences that can be issued. To be eligible for an Owner Builder licence, you must not have been granted an Owner Builder licence in relation to other land in the previous five years. There is no restriction on the number of owner-builder licences for work on the same site.

Owner Builder qualifications

Mandatory qualifications apply, including the need to demonstrate sufficient experience to do the building work and satisfactory completion of an owner-builder course to demonstrate you have sufficient knowledge of legislative and technical requirements. The experience and qualifications required are relative to the complexity of building work:

1. if you apply for an owner-builder licence to build or renovate a Building Code of Australia class 1 building such as a new residence or an addition/alteration to a residence, you will need to have successfully completed an Owner Builder course or examination within the last 5 years provided the course or examination was undertaken after 1 September 2004, or you are the holder of a builder licence (class A, B, C or interstate equivalent); or
2. if you apply to build a Building Code of Australia class 10 structure such as decks, pergolas, carports, garages and retaining walls, you will need to provide evidence of your skills and experience to demonstrate that you are able to satisfactorily carry out the building work or alternatively you have successfully completed an Owner Builder course or examination within the last 5 years provided the course or examination was undertaken after 1 September 2004, or you are the holder of a builder licence (class A, B, C or interstate equivalent)

Want to know more:

a. Download section
b. Shopping Mall
c. http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/2003/CL5.pdf
d. CL6 - Application for owner builders licence for BCA Class 10 buildings/structures.