If you have any questions about building or renovating in the City of Melville, we may be able to help. Find out more below.
General Planning Advice
The City can provide a variety of formal and informal planning advice. It's beneficial to have as much information as possible on hand when you seek advice to help the Statutory Planning team assist you effectively. We can provide advice about planning matters during business hours, without an appointment.
We can help with:
- The development application process including timeframes, types of planning/development applications, information required for a planning/development application and, fees
- The requirements of the Local Planning Scheme No.6, the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 (WA) and any council, local or state planning policies
- Zoning of land and the types of development that are permitted/exempted from needing a development approval
- The design review process
- Planning compliance matters
If your request needs time to consider or you need something more formal from us, we may ask you to lodge a request for
written planning advice instead.
Requesting General Planning Advice
To request general planning advice, please
contact us and ask to speak to the duty statutory planner.
Written Planning Advice
If your question requires time to research and consider or you require a response in writing, we can provide written planning advice.
We can provide written planning advice on:
- Existing approved land uses for a particular property
- Land use exemptions including home offices and home occupations
- Policies or scheme provisions which are applicable to a development type or zone
The City is unable to provide the following information through the written planning advice process as this needs to be dealt with via the planning/development application process:
- Specific advice on proposed variations for a development that has not been formally lodged with the City, and whether a particular variation would be supported by the City
- Whether an aspect of a proposal complies with the R-Code or policy requirements
In addition to the above, we cannot give written planning advice for grouped dwellings, multiple dwellings or mixed-use, commercial or industrial developments as these require a performance assessment against the relevant design principles of the planning framework. A performance assessment can only take place during the planning/development application process. Therefore, a written planning advice will not be accepted to assess the aforementioned development types.
If you are after advice regarding whether your single house or residential renovations to a single house on a single lot meet the ‘deemed to comply’ provisions of the R-Codes, you will need to request a
deemed-to-comply check instead.
Documents Required for Written Planning Advice
You will need to provide the below to submit a request for written planning advice:
- Completed Written Planning Advice Form
- A cover letter detailing the nature of your request
- Any relevant plans such as a site plan, floor plans and elevations with natural ground levels shown which will assist us in providing accurate advice (more detailed drawings will enable the City to properly assess the proposal and give practical feedback).
Timeframes
Upon payment of applicable fees, a statutory planner will review your application and provide a response via email within 10 business days. If you require further advice, you will need to submit another form and the fee will be payable again.
Fees and Charges
The fee for written planning advice is $73.00.
Shall the written planning advice be received, and a significant amount of time is required to complete the advice, the City may request an additional fee be provided prior to the advice being provided.
Lodging a Request for Written Planning Advice
All requests for Written Planning Advice are now lodged through our online portal.
Click on the link below to be directed to lodge online.
Please ensure you have all the required documentation ready, and together all the attachments do not exceed more than 10 or combined are no more than 500MB in size. If you have more than 10 attachments or the total size for all attachments exceed 500MB, please contact our planning administration team.
Please visit our
Lodge and Track Planning and Building Applications page, for information about our new online lodgement process.
Deemed-to-Comply Check
If you are unsure whether your single house or residential renovations meets the ‘deemed to comply’ provisions of the Residential Design Codes (R-Codes) and our local planning policies, you can apply for a Deemed-to-Comply Check.
The intent of this check is to provide you with confidence that your proposal can proceed straight to a building permit. While this is a voluntary check, if you choose to lodge a building permit application without this check and we identify that planning/development approval is required, you will have to apply for planning/development approval which may delay your project.
There are two types of Deemed-to-Comply checks:
- 'Minor' Deemed-to-Comply Check – for new patios/pergolas/verandas or decks, external fixtures, outbuildings, retaining walls, ancillary dwellings, garage/carports, or for any site works or extensions/additions to a single storey house
- 'Standard' Deemed-to-Comply Check – for upper floor extension/addition and the erection of any single house
A Deemed-to-Comply check is only available for the above proposals where the property is not listed on the
Heritage List. It is not available for grouped dwellings, multiple dwellings or mixed-use, commercial or industrial developments as these proposals require a performance assessment against the relevant design principles of the planning framework and planning approval is always required.
Shall a Deemed-to-Comply Check be lodged for grouped dwellings, multiple dwellings or mixed-use, commercial or industrial developments, only a partial refund, not a full refund, will be provided.
Documents Required for a Deemed-to-Comply Check
You will need to provide the below for a Deemed-to-Comply Check:
- Completed Deemed to Comply Check Form
- A cover letter outlining your proposal
- Site plan, floor plans and elevations with natural ground levels shown
Timeframes
Upon payment of applicable fees, a statutory planner will review your application and provide a response via email within 10 business days.
Fees and Charges
- $73.00 for a minor Deemed-to-Comply check
- $295.00 for a standard Deemed-to-Comply check.
Requesting a Deemed to Comply Check
All requests for Deemed to Comply Checks are now lodged through our online portal.
Click on the link below to be directed to lodge online.
Please ensure you have all the required documentation ready, and together all the attachments do not exceed more than 10 or combined are no more than 500MB in size. If you have more than 10 attachments or the total size for all attachments exceed 500MB, please contact our planning administration team.
Please visit our Lodge and Track Planning and Building Applications page, for information about our new online lodgement process.
Pre-lodgement Discussions
We encourage you to discuss your proposal with us before lodging a planning/development application. This is particularly important for Development Assessment Panel (DAP) applications as well as
mixed use, commercial and industrial developments which can be quite complex. Pre-lodgement discussions can improve the overall quality of the design and smooth out the development approval process.
A pre-lodgement discussion may include the following:
- Identification of the requirements of our Local Planning Scheme No. 6, any relevant structure plan/activity centre plan, the Residential Design Codes (R-Codes) and any relevant local planning policies.
- Key areas of concern or opportunities for improvement.
- Referral of your proposed development to our Design Review Panel for review and comment.
- Referral of your proposed development to relevant departments within the City for review and comment.
- The development application process.
Pre-lodgement discussions are free-of-charge.
Contact our planning team to organise a pre-lodgement assessment.
General Building Advice
We can provide advice and answer simple questions about building matters during business hours, without an appointment.
- The building application process including timeframes, the information required for a building permit and fees
- Whether a building permit is required and how to lodge an application
- Building compliance matters
Requesting General Planning Advice
To request general building advice, please
contact us and ask to speak to the duty building officer.
Building Frequently Asked Questions and Checklists
For fact sheets and checklists for different building types see our
Planning and Building Forms and Documents page.