As you may know it is possible to request a final plumbing inspection  or where applicable, a combined plumbing and final inspection for an Occupation Certificate for a new building.

When assessing plumbing compliance, it is crucial that the correct height clearance of 150mm is maintained  between the overflow relief gully (ORG) and the lowest floor waste in the building.

 
Recently, a number of  final inspections have revealed that, in some cases, the 150mm clearance is marginal or not available.
 
Where the clearance is marginal  (within 30mm either way) Council officers cannot rely on a tape measure  to verify the  correct clearance due to  the potential liability risk.
 
In such cases an accurate laser level clearance should be provided to  the council building surveyor either prior to or during the final inspection.   
This advice can be provided verbally  over the phone at the time of booking an inspection along with the name of the person who checked the level and the date the laser level was taken. Alternatively this information can be provided to the inspector on site.
 
A record of this information will be detailed in the inspection report.
 
Where the building surveyor estimates that the required clearance may be marginal or possibly not available  and a laser level  has not been provided  to verify the required clearance, than the inspector will be unable to finalise the inspection until an accurate level is provided.

 

Councils is receiving quite a number of CDC applications for complying development particularly for new dwellings  and for swimming pools.
 
This is a reminder of the need to show adequate details on CDC plans with regard to landscaping.  This is because both the Building Professionals Board and the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 requires  this information to be clearly shown on plans before any CDC can be issued.
 
Councils officers cannot amend CDC plans or rely on aerial photos or guess or estimate the area and location of landscaping.
If adequate information is not shown on plans then delays may arise until adequate plans are received.
 
The  following is required to be shown on the CDC site plan:

• The area of the land
• The site coverage of development
• The existing and proposed building footprint and location and area of hardstand, carports and driveways;
• The dimensions and the setback of buildings from side and rear boundaries and the building line;
• Location of any easement;
• The location and area of each  landscaping strip (shown hatched or coloured where possible) and the total of the landscaping provided on site, including the area at the frontage (in front of  the building line), the  area at each side boundary and the area at the rear. The proposed building or pool cannot be included in the landscaping area.
• Each area of landscaping should be shown on the plan
• The gross floor area of all buildings.

Persons intending to lodge plans for CDC applications should refer to the state policy for the required landscaping standards and information or contact Councils building surveyor to help  guide you through the process

A friendly reminder to trades-persons that when booking your next Frame inspection to ensure that not only your wall frames and roof trusses are erected to manufacturers details, windows needs to be installed as well as the below measures:
External brickwork or other external finishes such as cladding
The roof is also to be complete and services ‘roughed in’ – electrical, plumbing and heating/cooling will be installed.
Note  Insulation must not be installed for the frame inspection.

Completion of Checklists
 
Please ensure that all sections of the required checklist have been completed. 
Blank checklists are not acceptable.
 
Naming convention for PDF files
 
Please ensure that you following the required naming convention accurately as outline in Section 3 of the checklist.
 

 Where a required plan forms part of another set of plans, you can tick the following box to identify that the information has been provided: 


If you are proposing to lodge additional documents that are not covered by the checklist, please provide a meaningful file name so that the document can be easily identified.
 
Completing and saving the application form
 
The application form can be completed for multiple applications – e.g. DA, CC and AA.  If applying for multiple applications, please ensure that the application form is saved within each application folder (DA folder, CC folder and AA folder).
 
Alternatively, the application can be completed separately for each application type.
 
Applicant signature
 
Council will accept a Digital ID applied to the electronic form using Adobe.  This will allow you to complete, sign and save without saving.
 
You can also email the form to you client who may sign the form using a Digital ID.
 
Alternatively, if you (or your client) are unable to apply a Digital ID, you will need to print, sign and scan the form.
 
Landowner consent
 
You must have the written consent of the owner of the land to lodge a DA, CDC or DA modification.  You must declare on the application form that you have this consent and ensure that you keep a copy of this consent in your records.  You are not required to submit this with your application.
 
Please remember that it is an offense to make a false declaration and that such a declaration may render a consent invalid.
 
Lodging applications on behalf of the applicant.
 
Please note that if you are lodging an application on behalf of your client (who is the applicant), please ensure that the declaration shown below is completed to ensure Council has permission to correspond with you.

Please note, however, when lodging through Objective Connect (or posting your application), initial correspondence will be emailed to the applicant only with regard to payment of fees.  If you are responsible for the payment of application fees, you will need to ensure that your client passes this information onto you.
 
Council is currently investigating whether its systems will also allow for this initial email to be forwarded to the person submitting the application (where that person is not the applicant).
 
Using Objective Connect – Reminders:
 
Please take note of the information contained in the following 2 screen shots taken from the standard checklists:
 
Old Application forms and checklists
 
Council will continue to accept the old forms and checklists through to the end of March 2019.  However the old forms and checklists are no longer available on this website.
 
Any application lodged using the old forms will need to be lodged in accordance with those requirements (i.e. in printed format).
 
Please do not combine old and new forms/checklists when lodging your application
 
Posting your application
 
Applications saved to USB/CD (or printed applications) can be posted to Council.  When posting your application on USB/CD, please ensure that you have completed and enclosed a “Postal Cover Sheet” so that it can be correctly identified as an application upon receipt by Council.
 
Feedback
 
Council welcomes all constructive feedback regarding the electronic lodgement process.  Council will be implementing improvements to the system based on this feedback moving forward. Please email your feedback to council@wagga.nsw.gov.au
 
Further information
 
Please contact Council on 1300 292 442, email council@wagga.nsw.gov.au or visit our Customer Service team in the Civic Centre, corner Baylis and Morrow Streets, Wagga Wagga.