Short answer: there is no single building permit cost in Australia: a permit is not one charge. It is a lodgement fee, an assessment or certification fee, a statutory levy set as a percentage of the work, and the inspections that follow — each priced by a different party, on a different base, with different GST treatment. Victoria's levy is 0.128 per cent of the cost of work; New South Wales charges 0.25 per cent above $250,000; South Australia 0.25 per cent of estimated project value. Averaging those would be a category error.
Key Takeaways
- Four charges, four price-setters. A council sets the lodgement fee, a council or private certifier quotes the assessment, a statute fixes the levy, and inspections accrue across the build.
- Levies are percentages, not prices. Victoria 0.128%, NSW 0.25%, SA 0.25%, ACT 1.40% or 1.28% — each on a differently defined base, so they are not comparable and must never be averaged.
- GST treatment is not uniform. Victoria's levy is computed on a GST-inclusive cost of work but carries no GST itself; NSW's long service levy has no GST implication; council fees often quote GST-inclusive.
- The assessment fee is the negotiable part. A municipal surveyor publishes a schedule; a private certifier quotes commercially.
- Every figure here is dated. Victoria's method changed on 26 November 2025; WA's threshold on 1 July 2026.
What building permit cost actually covers
The permit component prices statutory consent and inspection, not building — a distinction worth holding, because the permit line is often blamed for costs belonging elsewhere. A fifth cost sits adjacent: specialist reports — geotechnical, energy, fire, bushfire — quoted separately and rarely in a certifier's proposal. Those documents belong to the application set described in how a building permit application works.
| Charge | Who sets it | Payable | Negotiable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lodgement or application fee | Council or issuing authority | On lodgement | No — published |
| Assessment or certification fee | Municipal surveyor or private certifier | On invoice after lodgement | Yes, if private |
| Statutory levy | State or territory legislation | Before the permit issues | No |
| Inspections and re-lodgement | The certifier; council fee schedule | As the build proceeds | Partly — scope-dependent |
The four charges, separated
Most published figures confuse a fee with a levy. A fee recovers a service: set by its provider, varying with how much assessment is involved. A levy is imposed by an Act as a percentage of declared value, identical for every applicant doing work of the same value, and not negotiable.
A certifier's invoice is best read as a stack. The levy is not the certifier's revenue — it is collected and passed to a state fund. The assessment fee is. The lodgement fee is the council's. The two issuing models are compared in council surveyor versus private certifier.
Statutory levies you cannot negotiate
Every rate below was retrieved on 23 October 2026 from the source named in the table.
| Jurisdiction | Levy | Rate | Basis and threshold | GST | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIC | Building permit levy | 0.064 + 0.064 cents in the dollar (0.128%) | Cost of work above $10,000 | Base includes GST; levy carries none | Building Act 1993 s 205G; BPC |
| VIC | Building Reform Levy (replaced the Cladding Rectification Levy on 1 July 2026) | 0.37 cents in the dollar | Class 2–8, non-regional Victoria, class 2–8 cost of work $1.5m or more; applies 1 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2029 | As above | BPC — Building Reform Levy; Cladding Safety Victoria Repeal Bill 2026 |
| NSW | Long service levy | 0.25% | Cost of works ≥$250,000 incl GST | No GST implication | Long Service Corporation |
| SA | CITF levy | 0.25% | Estimated project value above $100,000 excl GST for approvals or construction after 1 Jan 2025 (above $40,000 incl GST before) | Threshold defined excl GST | CITB |
| WA | Building Services Levy | 0.137% | Value above $45,000; $61.65 at or below | Per permit authority | Building and Energy |
| WA | Construction Training Fund | 0.2% | Above $100,000 from 1 July 2026 (was $20,000) | Rate unchanged | CTF |
| ACT | Building levy | 1.40% (class 1 or 2) / 1.28% (other) | Approvals lodged by a private certifier | GST-exempt | Building (Fees) Determination 2026 |
| ACT | Training levy | 0.2% | Work valued $10,000 or more | GST-exempt | ACT 2026-27 fees |
The bases differ, which is the point. Victoria levies a cost of work that must include GST and exclude chattels, calculated by the applicant under a formula in force since 26 November 2025. South Australia levies an estimated project value defined excluding GST for approvals after 1 January 2025. Western Australia levies the value of the work with a flat floor. The ACT's 1.40 per cent is an order of magnitude above the others and funds different functions, so it is not comparable. The same building attracts a different base, and levy, in each.
Queensland is absent as a finding, not an omission. Building approval there comes from a QBCC-licensed private certifier, and this review found no permit-linked state levy in the QBCC or Business Queensland material examined. We say "we found no levy", not "there is none".
Confirm at lodgement. Every rate above is current as at 23 October 2026. Two moved within eighteen months: Victoria's cost-of-work method on 26 November 2025, and WA's CTF threshold on 1 July 2026. No calculator substitutes for the schedule in force when you lodge.
What councils and certifiers charge
The largest component and the least published. One dated example per state, from the authority's own page:
Victoria. Knox City Council publishes fees current 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026: a residential lodgement fee of $138.30 (GST exempt), a flat online application fee of $936 (GST included), and a single-dwelling permit fee of cost of works ÷ 90, minimum $2,900 (GST included). The state levy is cost of works × 0.00128, "GST not applicable" (Knox).
New South Wales. Inner West Council's 2026-27 schedule sets a construction certificate fee of $2,695.09 including GST for works of $250,000 to $499,999, $3,294.01 for $500,000 to $999,999, and $354.00 per inspection (Inner West, updated 23 July 2026). The NSW Planning Portal separately charges $47 to lodge a CC — a platform charge, not an assessment charge (Planning Portal, updated 3 June 2026).
South Australia. PlanSA's Fees and charges at a glance, July 2026: Class 1 building assessment $538 or 0.25% of development cost, whichever is greater; certificate of occupancy $59.50; Class 1 inspection $287 (PlanSA).
Western Australia and Queensland. Each WA local government sets its own application fee; Geraldton publishes a minimum of $182.65 per permit — a $121.00 application fee plus the $61.65 levy (Geraldton). In Queensland the assessment fee is a commercial quote; Brisbane charges $78.80 to lodge certification documents online and $137.55 in hard copy (Brisbane). In the ACT approval comes from a private certifier; only the levy is published.
None is a state-wide rate. A council schedule describes that council; a permit register search shows what was issued, not what it cost.
A worked example, labelled illustrative
Illustrative only. Arithmetic on published figures — not a quote, a market average or advice. It excludes the certifier's own fee and every consultant report.
Assumptions. A new Class 1 dwelling in an SA metropolitan council, cost of works $420,000, GST-exclusive. One building consent, one certificate of occupancy, one inspection beyond the mandatory hold points.
| Item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Lodgement fee | PlanSA band >$300,000 to ≤$500,000 | $197.00 |
| Building assessment | 0.25% × $420,000 = $1,050; above $538 minimum | $1,050.00 |
| Certificate of occupancy | PlanSA fixed fee | $59.50 |
| Class 1 inspection | PlanSA fixed fee, one additional | $287.00 |
| CITF levy | 0.25% × $420,000 | $1,050.00 |
| Published subtotal | $2,643.50 | |
| Certifier's assessment fee | Commercial quote | not included |
| Specialist reports | Commercial quotes | not included |
GST treatment, stated. The $420,000 is GST-exclusive, the correct base for the CITF post-2025 threshold. On a GST-inclusive $420,000 the CITF base becomes $381,818 and the levy falls to $954.55. PlanSA's schedule does not state its GST treatment — confirm with the assessing authority. Victoria uses the opposite convention: its levy base must include GST, so $420,000 inclusive yields $537.60 and exclusive $488.73.
The Victorian comparison is not a price comparison. For the same dwelling Knox publishes $138.30 lodgement, a flat $936 online application fee, a dwelling fee of $4,666.67 (cost ÷ 90) and $537.60 of levy. Knox says the online fee "comprises" the lodgement and application fees, so whether it replaces or sits alongside the calculated dwelling fee is a question for the council. That ambiguity is the point: the items differ by thousands not because building costs more in one state, but because one is a state agency charging a percentage assessment and the other a council fee funding its inspection programme. The SA pathway is in building consent in South Australia.
Why two quotes for the same house differ
Six variables explain most of the spread, all knowable before you request a quote.
Cost of works, and how it is defined. The assessment fee and the levy can use different denominators. A surveyor may price from drawings while the levy uses declared contract value — so a higher contract price raises the levy without raising the fee.
Building class and complexity. Performance solutions — designs departing from deemed-to-satisfy provisions — cost more to assess because they need fire, energy or access engineering.
The inspection schedule. Mandatory hold points are fixed; additional inspections are charged. Knox charges $255 for a sundry inspection, Inner West $354.
Documentation quality. Amended plans trigger a re-lodgement fee — Knox $370 for a variation, Geelong $159 minor and $345 major (Geelong, 2026-27). Incomplete drawings cost twice: the fee, and the delay — and delay is itself a cost.
Council or private certifier. A municipal schedule is a floor and ceiling; a private certifier quotes on scope and liability.
Staged permits. More applications, more lodgement fees. In Victoria the Building Reform Levy for a staged class 2–8 permit is set by the cost of the whole of that work, not the stage.
For South Australian projects: Cyberate Project Management (CPM) is part of DDDI Group, the publisher of this article. Links to CPM are related-party referrals, not independent recommendations. CPM provides development approval and subdivision management in South Australia only; approval rules, fees and services differ in other states. CPM is not a certifier, building surveyor, consent authority or permit issuer. To have the permit line priced against a site, book a free consultation for a written cost read on a South Australian project.
What the permit line does not include
It does not include construction cost or GST on the build, design documentation and engineering, developer contributions and headworks, finance and holding costs during assessment, or contingency. Those belong in the full development cost checklist and a model holding them together — a property development feasibility template. The permit line is small next to them, but it gates everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost for a building permit in Australia?
There is no single figure: a permit is four charges — lodgement, assessment, statutory levy and inspections — depending on your state, certifier and declared cost of works. As a dated example, a $420,000 GST-exclusive Class 1 dwelling in South Australia attracts $2,643.50 in published PlanSA and CITF items before the certifier's quote.
What are the building permit fees in Western Australia?
Three charges. The Building Services Levy is 0.137% of value above $45,000, or $61.65 at or below. The Construction Training Fund levy is 0.2%, and since 1 July 2026 applies only above $100,000. On top sits your local government's application fee — Geraldton's minimum is $182.65.
Is GST included in building permit fees?
It varies by charge, and the difference is material. Victoria's levy is calculated on a cost of work that must include GST, but the levy carries none. NSW's long service levy has no GST implication. Council fees often quote GST-inclusive. PlanSA's schedule does not state its treatment, so confirm it.
Do I need a building permit after seven years?
No. There is no national seven-year rule making unapproved work lawful. Pages claiming one usually conflate three questions: how long an authority has to bring enforcement proceedings, how long a permit stays valid, and what an insurer or lender will accept. Validity is set by state legislation — read the permit and ask the issuer.
Why is a private certifier's quote higher than the council's published fee?
They are different products. A council schedule is a published fee for a defined scope; a certifier quotes commercially for assessment, inspection and certifying liability. Compare the same inspection schedule and document set; the cheaper quote is not automatically better.
The frame that holds
Separate the four charges before comparing anything; different parties price them on different bases. Date every statutory figure to its financial year, because two rates here moved within eighteen months. State the GST treatment of the base, because the same cost of works yields a different levy under each convention. Then treat the result as an estimate of consent cost — not of the project, and not a number that transfers to another state.
If the permit line needs to sit inside a full feasibility model, enquire about an investment return analysis. Cyberate Project Management (CPM) is part of DDDI Group, the publisher of this article. Links to CPM are related-party referrals, not independent recommendations. CPM provides development approval and subdivision management in South Australia only; approval rules, fees and services differ in other states.