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Civil infrastructure works for planning permits

Find out about civil infrastructure works applications, processes and inspections for your planning permit project.

Civil infrastructure inspections for your development

Once you have received a planning permit from our Statutory Planning team, our Civil Infrastructure team will inspect your development at different stages of your development.

These inspections ensure that:

  • Existing City-owned infrastructure is protected or reinstated
  • New infrastructure meets City standards and requirements

At the end of your development, a Statement of Compliance can only be issued by the Statutory Planning team once all internal and external referral authorities have provided their consent. Our Civil Infrastructure team is one of several internal referral authorities involved in this process.

Note: The information on this page relates specifically to civil infrastructure works applications, processes, and inspections.

 

Inspection timing

The timing of inspections is critical. Inspections must occur:

  • At the correct stage of development (not too early)
  • Before works are carried out (not too late)

A list of potential inspections required during development is provided below.

 

Working with a consultant?

If you 've engaged a project consultant, they will manage the development process on your behalf. Please direct any queries to your consultant.

If you 're managing the project yourself, we 're here to help. For advice or assistance, contact our Civil Infrastructure team by email [email protected] or call us on 5272 5272. 

 

Inspections

To book an inspection, please contact our Civil Infrastructure team by phone. Appointments cannot be made via email at this time.

  • Pre-commencement inspection - this inspection is required before any works start on-site. An inspector from our Civil Infrastructure team will meet you onsite to discuss your development, explain our processes and standards, and answer any questions you may have.
  • Legal Point of Discharge (LPOD) inspection - An inspection is required before the plumber or contractor backfills any stormwater connection into Council-owned drainage infrastructure. An inspector from our Civil Infrastructure team will visit the site to confirm the connection is made in the approved location and to ensure the work meets Councils standard. If the LPOD is located in the road reserve, the plumber must obtain an approved Works Within Road Reserve permit before commencing any work on-site.
  • Vehicle Crossing pre-approval inspection - Before a permit application in submitted, our inspector will meet with the the property owner and/or the contractor to discuss the proposed vehicle crossing. If the crossing works relate to a planning permit condition, please let us know when booking the inspection.

    After the inspection, we will email the property owner or contractor to confirm whether the works have been approved or refused, and to outline any conditions attached to the application. The contractor must submit a copy of this confirmation with their permit application.
    Please contact us by phone to schedule an inspection, providing at least 3 business days' notice.
  • Vehicle Crossing pre-pour inspection - Once the vehicle crossing has been boxed in accordance with the permit, any attached conditions, and our design specifications, the permit applicant must request the pre-pour inspection by phone, allowing at least 3 business days' notice. If the contractor is not on site during the inspection, we will contact the contractor by phone to confirm whether the concrete pour can proceed.
  • Statement of Compliance (SOC) inspection - This inspection is required once all civil infrastructure works are complete. A representative from our Civil Infrastructure team will inspect the site to ensure the works meet City standards. Once approved, we will notify the Statutory Planning team, who are responsible for issuing the Statement of Compliance—but only after all internal and external referral authorities have provided their consent.

Note: Please pay close attention to the "Prior to Statement of Compliance" conditions listed on your planning permit. Review these requirements carefully and direct any questions about the SOC process to our Statutory Planning team.

Common Questions

If the plans have been endorsed, you will have received a confirmation email from the Statutory Planning team. Every page of the endorsed plans will have a green "City of Greater Geelong" stamp on it, and be signed and dated by an authorised Statutory Planner. Any queries about planning permits and endorsed plans can be directed to our Statutory Planning team.
Not always – refer to the common question about condition 1 plans. If condition 1 indicates the plans are endorsed, drainage plans don’t need to be submitted. If condition 1 indicates the plans need to be amended, then engineering plans will need to be submitted by the drainage contractor who will be constructing the separate "Legal Point of Discharge" connections for each dwelling.

"As Constructed Plans" relate to new civil infrastructure assets and need to be approved by the City. We need to ensure that the asset's construction, materials and installation meet our standards, as they will become public assets owned by the City. In most cases, these assets require a bond for 12 months. The following documents are required to be submitted for "As Constructed Plans" - please email to [email protected]:

  • As Constructed Plans - in PDF format (every page must be signed by the contractor)
  • As Constructed Plans - in DXF format
  • A "Bill of Quantities" for the construction of the new pit – in PDF or XLSX format
Endorsed plans form part of a planning permit (refer above). Engineering plans (engineering, civil, drainage, etc., drawn to scale) must be submitted to and approved by our Civil Infrastructure team. Approved engineering plans will be stamped with a red "City of Greater Geelong" stamp, signed and dated by an authorised Engineer.
The first inspection needed is a pre-commencement, before any works start on-site. You will need to have an approved planning permit and endorsed plans before you call us to book the pre-commencement inspection. Our inspectors will meet you on-site to discuss the process and inspections that will be required.
The common property is required to have drainage and new concrete installed. However, if the driveway falls to the property's rear, we may consider leaving the existing driveway if it drains to a rear easement and the drainage and driveway construction meets our standards. Our Civil Infrastructure team will need to approve any changes, and this may require a discussion, meeting, new plans and/or site inspection by a City Engineer.

A WWRR permit is required for works less than 8.5 square metres undertaken in a Council road reserve.

A Consent for WWRR is required for works greater than 8.5 square metres undertaken in a Council road reserve.

Applications for a WWRR permit or a Consent for WWRR can be submitted online by the concreter/contractor undertaking the works (a copy of their certificate of currency for public liability insurance must be provided).

While there may be an easement on the property's title, there may not be a constructed stormwater drain below ground. If there is a stormwater drain in the easement, it may not necessarily cater for your property.

The Legal Point of Discharge (LPOD) location for each lot will be addressed in the planning permit conditions. Developments must comply with all planning permit conditions, including LPODs.

Yes - we need to approve the Legal Point of Discharge (LPOD) for the existing dwelling's stormwater.

However, if you can show the existing LPOD meets our requirements, we may consider approving the existing LPOD. We will require a plumber's report including CCTV footage showing that the LPOD works to our satisfaction.

Yes – these inspections are required. The civil infrastructure inspections which may be required for your development are detailed above under "inspections". We need to ensure contractors have the necessary permits and we need understand, inspect and approve the works being undertaken to ensure they comply with our standards.
A Statement of Compliance can only be issued for a development, not individual lots. However, if your planning permit includes a section 173 agreement for this purpose, and it is in place before works commence, individual lots may be issued with a Statement of Compliance by our Statutory Planning team. Queries can be directed to our Statutory Planning team.
A section 173 agreement is a legal agreement between Council and another party under section 173 of the Planning and Environment Act (1987). Usually, the other party is the landowner, although in some cases a third party (such as a referral authority) may also be involved.

Condition 1 on a planning permit relates to plans which must be endorsed by the Statutory Planning team. Condition 1 will be called “endorsed plans” or “amended plans”:

  • Endorsed plans – condition 1 on the planning permit will be titled “endorsed plans” and the plans will be endorsed (stamped green, signed and dated).
  • Amended plans – condition 1 on the planning permit will be titled “amended plans” and the plans will not be endorsed. To comply with the planning permit conditions, the plans will need to be amended, then submitted to the Statutory Planning team for endorsement.

Once the Statutory Planning team is satisfied that the relevant conditions of the planning permit have been met, they will endorse the plans. The endorsed plans will be stamped green, signed and dated.

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