What the checker is reading
| State | What triggers approval | Read from |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Floor more than 1 m above existing ground, more than 3 m at the highest point, or more than 25 m² | Codes SEPP 2008, via the NSW Planning Portal |
| VIC | No exemption exists. A building permit is required for a deck | Building Regulations 2018 Schedule 3 |
| QLD | Roofed at all, more than 1 m above natural ground, more than 10 m² plan area, or anywhere in Wind Region C | Building Regulation 2021 Schedule 1 s 13 |
| WA | No exemption exists. A building permit is required, unless your rural district is exempt outside townsites | Building Regulations 2012 Schedule 4 |
| SA, TAS, ACT, NT | Not confirmed. We could not read these at their own authority, so we publish no figure | — |
Do you need council approval for a deck in QLD?
Usually not from council, and often not at all. A Queensland deck needs no building approval when it’s unroofed, no more than 1 m above natural ground, no more than 10 m² and not in Wind Region C. Queensland calls that accepted development. Miss any one of the four and you need building approval, and in Queensland that comes from a building certifier, licensed by the QBCC, who manages “the building approval and inspection process”. A private certifier is engaged in writing, with the fee stated.
Council comes into it through the planning scheme. Business Queensland says “Minor building work may require approval under local government planning schemes.” Height, setback or the character of the street can be controlled there even when the deck needs no building approval, so ring council or check its planning scheme before you set a post.
Accepted development isn’t a free pass either. The owner is still responsible for the work meeting the standards, including structural sufficiency, size limits and boundary setbacks. Building it for someone else, the licence rule is below.
Sources, Building Regulation 2021 (Qld) Schedule 1 s 13, read 3 September 2026. Business Queensland, When you don’t need building approval (last updated 23 June 2022) and Role of building certifiers (last updated 14 July 2026), both read 26 October 2026.
Planning approval and building approval are two different things
People lose money on this one. Building approval asks whether the structure is sound. Planning approval asks whether it is allowed on that land at all. Passing one does not clear the other.
- NSW is the simple case. Meet the exempt development standards and you need neither planning nor building approval.
- Victoria and Queensland split them. Victoria’s Schedule 3 carries a note saying work exempt from a building permit may still need a planning permit. Business Queensland says the same thing in its own words, minor building work may still need approval under the local planning scheme.
- Western Australia splits them too. The building permit is under the Building Regulations, and planning runs through your local planning scheme and the R-Codes.
The Victorian 800 mm deck myth
Search for this and you will be told a freestanding deck under 800 mm high needs no permit in Victoria. It is a misreading of the regulation.
The 800 mm figure lives in regulation 74(3), which lists things that may encroach into a setback, “decks, steps or landings less than 800 mm in height”. A setback allowance and a permit exemption are different instruments doing different jobs. Schedule 3 is the permit exemption list, and no item in it is a deck.
What kills the exemption even when the numbers pass
Every state hangs conditions off the thresholds. These are the ones that catch people.
- Heritage. Victoria’s Schedule 3 excludes work on a building on the Heritage Register outright. NSW pushes structures in a heritage conservation area to the rear yard.
- Bushfire-prone land. NSW requires non-combustible walls within 5 m of a dwelling. In WA the bushfire performance requirement expressly reaches a deck attached to a house.
- Setbacks and the building line. NSW wants 900 mm from each boundary, 5 m in the rural and large-lot zones, and the structure behind the building line of any road frontage.
- Easements. Build over one and you need the service authority’s consent, whatever the deck measures.
- Cyclone country. Queensland switches the whole exemption off in Wind Region C.
Do you need a licence to build a deck?
Building one for a customer, past a dollar figure, yes. The figure is your state’s, and it’s on the price of the whole job, labour and materials.
- NSW, over $5,000. NSW says “You must have a contractor licence to carry out, advertise or contract for building or trade work that is valued at more than $5,000 in labour and materials (including GST).” Decks sit in its structural landscaping licence, and carpentry covers the footings for a timber deck.
- Queensland, over $3,300. The QBCC licenses building work “valued over $3,300”, and you need the licence class that covers the work.
- WA, it depends. You need to be a registered building contractor when the work needs a building permit, is $20,000 or more, and is inside the prescribed area, 122 local governments. WA’s own list of work that needs no registration names “timber decking”, so ask the permit authority on a big job.
- Everywhere else. We haven’t read Victoria, SA, Tasmania, the ACT or the NT at the source for decks, so check with your regulator before you quote.
Hiring someone, check their licence on the state register before you pay a deposit. It takes a minute, and NSW can fine an unlicensed contractor $22,000 as a person or $110,000 as a company.
Sources, NSW Government, Carpentry work (last updated 23 June 2026) and Structural landscaping work, QBCC, When you need a licence, and WA Building and Energy, Do I need to be a registered building contractor? (last updated 24 July 2026), all read 26 October 2026.
Deck approval FAQ
Do you need council approval for a deck in QLD?
Not if it is unroofed, no more than 1 m above natural ground, no more than 10 m² and outside Wind Region C. That is accepted development. Otherwise you need building approval, which in Queensland comes from a building certifier. Council can still control height, setbacks or character through its planning scheme, so check that too.
Do you need a licence to build a deck?
Building one for a customer, past your state’s dollar figure, yes. NSW licenses work over $5,000 including GST, Queensland over $3,300. WA wants a registered building contractor only when the work needs a permit, is $20,000 or more and is in the prescribed area. Check your own regulator elsewhere.
Who gives building approval for a deck?
It depends on the state. In Queensland a QBCC licensed building certifier, private or at council, manages building approval. NSW decks that meet the exempt development standards need none. Victoria and WA need a building permit for a deck. Planning approval is separate and comes from council.
How to read a government source without getting caught
A consolidated view of a regulation is usually headed “Current as at” a date. That is the date the text was last consolidated, not proof it is the law today. The Queensland reprint behind this page is headed 14 August 2026. That tells you when the reprint was compiled and nothing about what commenced afterwards. Where a state authority publishes its own plain-English page, we have read that too, and both links are in the answer above.
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General information for Australian homeowners and trades — not legal, planning or building advice, and not a substitute for your council or a building surveyor. Building and planning rules change, and your council can be stricter than the state rule. Every figure on this page carries the source it was read from and the date it was read; check it against that source before you rely on it. No regulator has reviewed this page. This page does not issue, lodge or approve anything.