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Building in Victoria ater the bushfres
 
A guide to building inVictoria ater the bushfres
The new residential building standard, combined with newplanning measures, came into eect in March 2009 asan amendment to the
Victorian Building Regulations 2006.
In response to Victoria’s devastating bushfres, the Victorian Government hasintroduced a new residential building standard. This means people can now startrebuilding their homes and communities without compromising saety.
Bushfre Building
Advice Line
Building Commission (9am – 5pm Monday to Friday)
☎
1300 360 320
Do I need a planning permit?
Rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by the recent fres
The Victorian Government is streamlining the process or rebuilding homes destroyed by bushre byremoving the need or a planning permit where possible. Where a house is being replaced on the samesite in a Wildre Management Overlay area (WMO), a planning permit will not be needed. A planningpermit will still be needed i there is a specic overlay or matters such as heritage, landslip orfooding. You should check with your local council i any o these apply. In some cases, an alternativesite may be a saer option. You can get advice rom the CFA and your council about how to choosethe saest site on your block.The State Government and your local Council are making sure that i you require them, the planningpermit approvals or your rebuilding work are issued quickly. Fees are also being waived in mostcircumstances. Ask your local Council about the special arrangements in place or properties thathave been aected by bushre.I a planning permit is required you need to obtain this rst beore a building permit can be issued.Reer to the building process on page 5. For more inormation on the planning permit process, contact your local Council or visit
www.dpcd.vic.gov/planning
Temporary dwellings
The Victorian Government is committed to reducing red-tape so the process o returning to yourproperty can happen quickly and saely.A recent change to all planning schemes has removed the need or a planning permit or activitiesdirectly associated with recovery rom the 2009 bushres, including demolishing buildings, cleaningup and making your property sae, and constructing temporary accommodation.To meet these provisions, your temporary accommodation must be built by 31 March 2010.Recognising that the purpose o your temporary housing is to allow you to rebuild all or part o yourhome, you can live in it until March 2011.Many areas will have community villages built by the State Government. Ask your local council wherethese areas are and how they will be allocated.Beore you construct and place your temporary accommodation on your property, it’s important toconsider the saest place or it to be. The Country Fire Authority has inormation about the designand siting o buildings to help reduce bushre risk at
www.ca.vic.gov.au
There are some circumstances where you will need written approval rom your local Council beore you can construct your temporary home. You can nd out i this applies to your site by asking yourlocal Council.Some local Councils may also have other requirements regarding the placement and allowable timeperiod or temporary buildings, so talk to your local Council about your intentions.For general inormation, download the Building and Plumbing Commission brochure
What you need to know about
 
temporary homes and buildings in bushfre aected areas
 at
www.buildingcommission.com.au
 
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Building in Victoria ater the bushfres
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Building in Victoria ater the bushfres
 
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Contents:
Nothing will be quite the same again 3Greater protection across the State 4How the new building standard came about 4The building process 5-7Retrotting 7Greater protection or people and buildings 8What my home might look like 10-11Buildings that must comply 12Local Council phone numbers 13Questions & answers 14-15Do I need a planning permit? Back cover
Nothing will be quite the same again
The February 2009 res in Victoria have re-written the rules about bushres. Many o the res registered heat above 1,200 degrees celsius and wind speeds o more than120 kmph, leaving very little in their wake. This is unprecedented.As a community we have quickly responded to the needs o the many thousands o people who have been displaced by this ordeal. The Victorian Government understandsthe strong desire or bushre aected people to start the rebuilding process, to moveback into their communities and re-assemble their lives.A major part o this is around your home.The Victorian Government has announced a rebuild that’s smarter and saer, throughthe early implementation o the new residential building standard.The move to implement this new Australian building standard has not compromisedsaety or quality o the decision-making process. Extensive research, expertise rom reand building authorities, public consultation around Australia have all been part o thisnew standard, to ensure that homes are built to a higher degree o re saety.The Royal Commission announced by the Victorian Government will considerlonger term issues including building methods and materials. However, the VictorianGovernment elt it was imperative to improve residential building standardsimmediately, so that homes are better protected in bushre prone areas.This Guide explains the new residential building standard and what it will mean to youand your community. It explains how the re-build process will work and it will help youconverse with your builder and local Council as you prepare to rebuild.As with the previous standard, the costs o building will depend on the type o construction and your property’s level o bushre risk. However, with a more nelytuned risk assessment, the new residential building standard ocuses on constructionrequirements to address the level o exposure that a building could ace underbushre attack. It provides homeowners with considerable choice in the type o design, construction and location o their homes and takes into account popularconstruction materials and methods.While the new residential building standard will improve protection or new homes, aswell as alterations and additions built in Victoria’s bushre prone areas, it is importantto note that it does not guarantee a building will survive a re due to the unpredictableand oten devastating nature o bushres.It will be important to ensure that the Victorian building industry is also ully awareo the new residential building standard. The Building Commission will be runningree industry and consumer seminars rom March 2009 throughout Victoria toexplain the changes. Details will appear in daily and local papers, or ring the
Bushfre Building Advice Line on 1300 360 320
or seminar dates in your area.
Bushfre Building
 
☎
Building Commission (9am – 5pm Monday to Friday)
1300 360 320
Advice Line
 
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Building in Victoria ater the bushfres
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Building in Victoria ater the bushfres
Greater protection across the State
The new residential building standard covers all new buildings, alterations and additions in theState o Victoria, rom homes on the ringes o the metropolitan area to those adjacent to ourstate orests, to communities devastated by the February 2009 res.We have recently experienced res burning close to built up areas, like Upwey and Belgrave.Homes were lost in Narre Warren South, and the Maiden Gully res were within vekilometres o the centre o Bendigo. All would require assessment under the new residentialbuilding standard.The threat o intense heat res, coupled with vegetation in close proximity to homes and otheractors outlined in this guide means that all homes will now require bushre attack assessment.Local Councils may provide guidance in relation to areas that may have a zoned assessment.As an example, inner suburban homes that abut a maintained park are excluded andautomatically assessed as a low re risk.
How the new building standard came about
Ater the Canberra bushres in 2003, the Australian Standard relating to building was extensivelyreviewed with the intention o introducing a new Australian Standard (AS 3959) nationally.In the wake o the devastating February 2009 bushres, the Victorian Government decided toact immediately to ensure that new homes, alterations and additions in Victoria are designed,constructed and located with greater bushre protection.While its introduction is an immediate response by the Victorian Government, this standard isthe culmination o a lengthy process o expert research and consultation to ensure better reprotection o homes at risk rom bushre.It has been through a ormal Regulatory Impact Statement process, which involved industryand public scrutiny o, and input to, the standard. There has been a ull public consultationprocess, with submissions rom industry, as well as high levels o home re saety and scienticresearch, with extensive review by bushre experts including the Country Fire Authority andthe Australasian Fire Authorities Council. All public submissions on the amendments supportedrevising the previous standard.The decision to introduce the new Australian building standard has ollowed a thorough process,which was important in getting the right outcome to ensure homes and people are betterprotected rom bushres in the uture.Under the previous standard, there were our levels o risk assessment. The new standardassessment adopts six levels o risk. The more scientic risk assessment contained in the newstandard determines the likely levels o heat exposure and then stipulates the appropriateconstruction method to improve the ability o a building to withstand bushre attack, andimportantly, protect occupants and the building.
The building process
Step 1: the design phase
I you intend to rebuild, renovate or signicantly repair a home in an area subject to bushrethreat the process will be no dierent to any other standard but you will need to take thenew building standard into consideration.Your building designer, architect or builder can advise you on how best to achieve this.They will consider your design by looking at the appropriate bushre attack level (BAL) andthen apply the construction methods most appropriate to meet your needs. The BAL andconstruction methods are explained on pages 10 and 11.Some sites will be assessed on paper, while other, high risk sites will require a site visit.The Building Commission may also be involved in the verication o the site assessmentprocess at the higher risk levels.I you want to owner-build you should contact your building surveyor or advice, or phone theowner-builder section o the Building Commission.When the design plans are complete, the next step is to appoint a builder.
Step 2: appointing a builder
One o the most important steps is ensuring your builder is a Registered Building Practitioner (RBP).This inormation is available at www.buildingcommission.com.au by clicking on the RBP sectionor you can phone the Building Practitioners Board on 1300 360 320.For most building or renovating work you will talk directly to the builder. Whatever the case, you must be able to deal with the same person or the duration o the project, so makesure you’re satised and take the ollowing precautions:
•
Obtain at least three quotes
•
Check examples o the builder’s work and ask or reerences
•
Beore you sign the building contract, read it thoroughly and ensure that you understand it
•
Check that the builder has an insurance policy covering the building work – it will be listedin the contract
•
Importantly, ask i your builder has obtained advice on the new building standard.
Finding a Registered Building Practitioner
To fnd a Registered Building Practitioner, including a BuildingSurveyor, go to the ‘Find an RBP’ section o the BuildingCommission website,
www.buildingcommission.com.au
orcall the Building Practitioners Board on
1300 360 320
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