Appeal proceedings

If you are dissatisfied with a decision under the Building Act 1993 (Act) or the Building Regulations 2018 (Regulations), you may have the right to appeal to the Building Appeals Board (Board) against that decision under Part 10 of the Act. In exceptional circumstances, you may be eligible for a fast tracked appeal. The Board must consider and determine an appeal against a:

  • decision of a relevant authority such as a council in respect of report and consent applications (s 144(1) of the Act);
  • refusal to issue or amend an occupancy or building permit (s 138 of the Act);
  • decision to give a relevant person a written direction to fix building work (s 138A of the Act);
  • refusal of a temporary approval to occupy a building (s 139 of the Act);
  • refusal to consent to the termination or appointment of a building surveyor (s 140 of the Act);
  • determination regarding protection work (s 141(a) of the Act);
  • building notice, building order or emergency order (s 142 of the Act);
  • decision under the Regulations (s 144(1) of the Act);
  • decision of the Victorian Building Authority under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (s 144A of the Act);
  • council decision under Part 14 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (caravan parks and movable dwellings) (s 521 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997); and
  • determination made by the relevant council regarding the construction date of a swimming pool (s 144(2) of the Act).

Standing (who may appeal)

To commence a proceeding you must serve a notice of appeal on the Board, but only if you are:

  • In a s 144(1) appeal, the owner of the building or land;
  • In a s 138(1), (2) or (3) appeal, the owner of the building or land or the purchaser of a lot under a contract of sale, which is of a kind referred to in s 9AA(1) of the Sale of Land Act 1962;
  • In a s 138(5) appeal, a prescribed reporting authority;
  • In a s 138A appeal, the builder;
  • In a s 139 appeal, the owner of the building;
  • In a s 140(1) appeal, the owner;
  • In a s 140(2) appeal, the owner or building surveyor;
  • In s 141 appeal, an owner required to carry out protection work or an adjoining owner;
  • In a s 142(1) or (2) appeal, the owner of the building or land; and
  • In a s 142(3) appeal, the owner or occupier of the building or land.

The applicant may authorise a representative to act on their behalf by signing the ‘Authority to Act (PDF, 156.8 KB)’ form.

Appeal periods in which to appeal

There are strict appeal periods prescribed by the Regulations by which you must serve your notice of appeal on the Board. If you serve it after the prescribed appeal period, save for very limited circumstances, the Board does not have the power to extend that period.

For more information on appeal periods, please refer to reg 271 of the Regulations or email the registry of the Board.

What to serve on the Board and other parties concerned

  1. The completed notice of appeal(s) form;
  2. A detailed written submission containing the nature of the proceeding, the grounds for commencing the proceeding and the relief sought with supporting documentation; and
  3. A completed Payment Details Form for payment of the prescribed fee for each appeal.

You must send copies of your notice of appeal and all correspondence and material filed with the Board to the other parties concerned in the proceeding.

Providing sufficient evidence with your notice of appeal is very important. You can include drawings, photographs, plans or expert reports.

Once you have served your notice of appeal

We will send you an email acknowledging receipt.

We aim to list completed appeals for hearing within four to eight weeks.

Provided the Board does not require any additional information after a hearing has been conducted, it will aim to make a determination on your appeal within one to eight weeks.

Please note the above time frames are subject to the complexity of the appeal(s) and the business of the Board.

Fast track requests

Section 147 of the Act, provides for any party to an appeal to request that it be fast tracked.

S 147 of the Act states:

  1. On an appeal under Division 1 any party to the appeal may request the Board to begin to hear or otherwise deal with the appeal within 2 business days after the request is made.
  2. A request under subsection (1) –
    1. Must be in writing; and
    2. Must be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
  3. The Board may grant or refuse the request and, if it grants the request, may require the person making the request to pay –
    1. The reasonable costs of all parties to the appeal for the proceedings after the request is granted; and
    2. If the Board hears the appeal, an additional prescribed fee for the time taken for the hearing (including any adjourned hearing) excluding the first 2 hours of the hearing.

How the Board assesses fast track requests

Parties requesting appeals to be fast tracked must provide submissions and evidence in support of the request.

In determining whether to grant a request, the Board may, amongst other considerations, consider the following:

  • Public Safety – If the building works were to not commence or temporarily cease due to a pending appeal hearing, would that cause a significant risk to the safety of the public? What measures are currently in place to manage any risks? What is the likelihood of the building work failing?
  • Public Interest – Is there an imperative in the public interest for the building works to start and/or continue?
  • Local Neighbourhood Amenity – Will disruptive construction processes be unreasonably prolonged, resulting in significant detriment to neighbourhood amenity?
  • Financial Hardship – Will a delay in hearing the appeal cause significant financial hardship? (This needs to be proven through calculations and evidence, which may include bank statements, project loss calculations, etc.)

The fast track consideration of an appeal is at the discretion of the Board.

Grounds not supporting a fast track request

The fast track request process is not intended to be a method by which parties can seek an earlier determination of their appeal simply by paying an additional fee.

For example, a fast track request would not normally be granted simply because:

  • the period by which it takes for the appeal to be ordinarily heard and determined is an inconvenience to a party;
  • a party plans to undertake a holiday at a period in the proceeding; or
  • the project has already been delayed for other reasons (for example, town planning approvals).

How to make a fast track request

A fast track request can only be made by a party to the appeal proceeding.

To make a request complete the fast track request form (PDF, 313.36 KB).

All fast track requests filed with the Board (including any submission or evidence forming part of that request) must be provided to all parties to the proceedings at the same time as the request is filed with the Board.

The requesting party may authorise a representative to act on their behalf by signing the Authority to Act form, which can be found on pages 4-5 of the fast track request form.

Fees

A fast track request form must be accompanied by the prescribed fee and the payment form  (PDF, 142.86 KB).

The Board only accepts payment in the form of credit card, bank cheque or money order made out to the Victorian Building Authority and must be provided with the request upon filing.

Where to send your notice of appeal or fast track request


By e-mail

registry@buildingappeals.vic.gov.au

In person
Building Appeals Board
Goods Shed North
733 Bourke Street
Docklands VIC 3008

By mail
Building Appeals Board
PO Box 536
Melbourne VIC 3001

Frequently asked questions

Can you advise whether an appeal proceeding has commenced with the Board in respect of a building or land?

You must put this request in writing and include the subject land address and send it to the registry email. We will then action your request accordingly and advise if an appeal has commenced.

I would like to appeal a building notice and a building order concurrently. Am I required to pay two fees?

Yes, you are required to pay one fee for each decision that you are appealing. Our Forms and fees page has a full list of what fees are payable.

If I want to appeal my local council’s report and consent refusal which includes multiple decisions, do I have to pay more than one fee?

A fee is payable for each decision made by council that you wish to appeal.

Can you tell me which notice of appeal to complete?

If you know what section of the Act you are appealing under, we can provide you with the correct notice to complete and serve on the Board. A list of all our forms and fees can be found on our website.

Is the decision under appeal put on hold when I commence an appeal proceeding?

  1. Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3, all decisions where there is a right of appeal do not take effect until the end of the prescribed appeal period if there is no appeal or if the decision is affirmed on appeal.
  2. Appeals under sections 138, 138A or 139 of the Act does not stay the operation of the decision under appeal unless the Board otherwise directs.
  3. An appeal under section 142(3) of the Act does not stay the operation of the emergency order the subject of the appeal.

I would like to withdraw my appeal. What do I do?

If you wish to withdraw your appeal, you should complete the Application for leave to Withdraw Form (PDF, 162.79 KB) and send it to the registry email.

Please email your request to the Board as early as possible to minimise costs and inconvenience and ensure you copy in all other parties to the proceeding.