Tips For Keeping Your Consent Fees Under Control
Our fees are calculated on an actual time/cost basis – based on the amount of time to issue your consent and the number of inspections required for your project.
Online applications are an easy and efficient way to
- lodge building consents,
- communicate with us throughout your consent process,
- respond to requests for further information,
- upload required documents, and
- apply for a code compliance certificate,
which can help reduce the time spent on administration and processing, leading to less fees.
Below are some further tips to help keep your costs down.
Application
- Electronic application is quicker – manual paper applications require more work as we load your application electronically, including scanning all supporting documents into AlphaOne
- Details and supporting documents – submit up to date information and documents that are specific to your building project
- Submit only documents required for your consent application - refer to our guide on Supporting Documents for Building Consent Applications [PDF, 147 KB]
- Ensure all information on plans is clearly legible, preferably in dark colours – yellow is difficult to read and can cause delays at processing while we clarify the information with you.
Communication and supply of documents
- Providing documents and questions only through our online AlphaOne system is more efficient, and avoids double handling
- View your consent details and status online using your building consent number.
Responding to requests for further information
- Responding back to requests for further information via the AlphaOne system means the information goes back to the processor directly and doesn’t need to be handled by administration staff – saving time and additional administration cost
- Sending through information that is relevant and requested reduces time spent on processing – sending irrelevant information may lead to more questions being asked and additional requests for further information
- We are obliged to read all the information provided with the consent – therefore submit only what is required – the more you supply the more it costs by lengthening the time involved in processing your application
- Requests for further information can be viewed online without having to phone us to request these details – all documents and letters issued by us can be viewed on AlphaOne
- We’re only human – if we’ve missed something please tell us where to find it.
Amendments
- An amendment is easy to submit online – state on the application what the amendment is for and the estimated value for this work only
- Send in only the information that is relevant to the amended building work, clearly marking changes made so the processor can easily identify these – it takes longer and is more costly if a processor has to ‘spot the difference’.
Inspections
- Book your own inspections on the Builders App [PDF, 170 KB]
- When booking an inspection make sure that the work is ready for the date booked – re-inspections and a cancelled inspection on the day will incur a fee
- Inspection notices are linked to the consent and can be viewed online – enabling you to see if the inspection has passed or a re-inspection is required without having to call us to ask
- Check out our building inspections guide – this has information available on what is covered at each inspection, allowing you be ready for each inspection.