Permits and licensing · Victoria
Renovation permits and contractor licences in Victoria
Victoria's regulator is the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC), and a planning permit and a building permit are different things. The building permit is issued by a registered building surveyor — municipal or private — and for domestic building work under a contract, the law says the builder cannot be the one who appoints that surveyor.
Regulators and licensing bodies in Victoria
These official bodies license contractors, oversee safety or issue permits in Victoria.
Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC)
Registers building practitioners and registers or licenses plumbers in Victoria, and publishes the register used to check them. Consumer Affairs Victoria warns that membership of an industry association is not the same as registration.
Your registered building surveyor
Issues the building permit and checks that the work complies with building law. Surveyors are municipal or private, and for domestic building work under a domestic building contract the builder cannot appoint them.
Your council (planning permits)
Decides planning permits, which allow a use or development to proceed on a parcel of land. A building permit cannot be granted until the surveyor is satisfied any relevant planning permit has been obtained.
Trades that need a licence in Victoria
General contracting and renovation
A company must be registered as a building practitioner to enter into major domestic building contracts, or to be named as builder on a building permit for major domestic building work or other work above a value threshold. The BPC warns that serious penalties apply for saying, or implying, that you or your company are registered when that is not true.
Sources:Building and Plumbing Commission – Registration requirements and eligibility(opens in a new tab)
Plumbing
Plumbers may only carry out plumbing work in Victoria if they hold a current registration or licence, or are a plumbing apprentice.
Sources:Building and Plumbing Commission – Plumber registration and licensing(opens in a new tab)
Gas and fuel-burning appliances
Gas is its own licensed class, not something a general plumber picks up: Energy Safe Victoria tells consumers to always use a licensed gasfitter for any installation, repairs or renovations involving gas work, and the Victorian Building Authority administers the licensing and registration system for plumbers and gasfitters. The piece homeowners most often miss is the paperwork — after installing a gas appliance, the licensed gasfitter must give you a compliance certificate. Keep it: it is what obliges them to come back and fix a defective installation.
Sources:Energy Safe Victoria – Gasfitters(opens in a new tab)
General contracting and renovation
The National Construction Code sets the technical provisions for designing and constructing buildings and plumbing and drainage systems, but it has no force of its own: the ABCB states that the NCC is given legal effect through state and territory building and plumbing legislation, and that adoption dates are set by each state's administration. Requirements can apply at different times, or not at all, because of state variations — and the ABCB notes that gasfitting and electrical work are not covered by the NCC at all.
Sources:ABCB – About the National Construction Code(opens in a new tab)ABCB – NCC 2025 state and territory adoption information(opens in a new tab)ABCB – Information for homeowners(opens in a new tab)
Building and renovation permits in Victoria
Two permits, two purposes. A planning permit is a legal document allowing a use or development to proceed on a specified parcel of land, and the Victorian Government warns it should not be confused with a building permit, which is issued under the Building Act 1993 and generally relates only to the construction aspects. The two are linked: where a planning permit is required, a building permit cannot be granted unless the building surveyor is satisfied the planning permit has been obtained and the building permit will be consistent with it. The building surveyor issues the building permit. If you engage a municipal building surveyor you simply apply to your council; a private building surveyor must notify the council within seven days of appointment. For domestic building work under a domestic building contract, the builder is barred by law from appointing the surveyor — that choice is yours.
Sources:Victorian Government – Planning permits(opens in a new tab)Building and Plumbing Commission – Roles and responsibilities(opens in a new tab)Building and Plumbing Commission – Appointing a building surveyor(opens in a new tab)
Before you hire a contractor in Victoria
Practical checks you can do yourself, using official tools where they exist.
Check the builder, plumber or practitioner on the BPC register before you appoint them.
Official lookup: Building and Plumbing Commission – Find and check a practitioner(opens in a new tab)
Appoint the building surveyor yourself for domestic building work — by law the builder cannot do it for you.
Official lookup: Building and Plumbing Commission – Appointing a building surveyor(opens in a new tab)
Sort out the planning permit first where one is needed: the surveyor cannot issue a building permit inconsistent with it.
Official lookup: Victorian Government – Planning permits(opens in a new tab)
Treat industry association membership as marketing, not registration, and verify registration separately.
Official lookup: Consumer Affairs Victoria – Building and renovating definitions(opens in a new tab)
Sources for renovation permits and licences in Victoria
Every fact on this page comes from these official sources.
- Building and Plumbing Commission – Find and check a practitioner(opens in a new tab)
- Consumer Affairs Victoria – Building and renovating definitions(opens in a new tab)
- Building and Plumbing Commission – Roles and responsibilities(opens in a new tab)
- Building and Plumbing Commission – Appointing a building surveyor(opens in a new tab)
- Victorian Government – Planning permits(opens in a new tab)
- Building and Plumbing Commission – Registration requirements and eligibility(opens in a new tab)
- Building and Plumbing Commission – Plumber registration and licensing(opens in a new tab)
- Energy Safe Victoria – Gasfitters(opens in a new tab)
- ABCB – About the National Construction Code(opens in a new tab)
- ABCB – NCC 2025 state and territory adoption information(opens in a new tab)
- ABCB – Information for homeowners(opens in a new tab)
Find licensed pros
Compare local pros for the regulated trades in this guide, then confirm their licence with the regulator before you hire.
Renovation permits in other states and territories
Planning a renovation?
Describe your project once and hear from local pros. Ask each one for their licence and permit details before you hire.