Short answer
A renovation or extension in Victoria moves through five steps: brief, concept design, design development, a planning permit if one is needed, then documentation and the building permit. A planning permit comes from your council. A building permit comes from a registered building surveyor, and the drawings for it are prepared by a registered building designer or a registered architect.
Most renovations and extensions follow the same path. Knowing the steps, and who is responsible for each, makes it easier to budget and to brief the people you hire.
1. Brief
Start with what is not working in the house and what you want from the change. Gather what you have: old plans, a measured sketch, photos, a budget range and your timing.
2. Concept design
Layout options that test how the house could work: where the extension goes, how the rooms connect, how light and the garden are used. Changes are easiest at this stage, before anything has been documented.
3. Design development
The preferred option is refined with materials and interiors. We show it in photoreal 3D, so you can judge the result before you pay for documentation or construction.
4. Planning permit, if your project needs one
A planning permit is council approval for the use or development of land. Whether you need one depends on your zone, any overlays on your lot and what you are building. Your council can confirm this. Where a planning permit is required, it has to be in place before a building permit can be issued.
5. Documentation and building permit
A building permit is written approval from a registered building surveyor that the plans comply with the building regulations. You can use a private building surveyor or your council's. The surveyor sets the mandatory inspections during construction and issues an occupancy permit or a certificate of final inspection at the end.
The drawings for a building permit are prepared by registered practitioners. In Victoria, architects must be registered with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria. Building designers and draftspeople must be registered with the state building regulator, the Building and Plumbing Commission, formerly the Victorian Building Authority.
Who does what
| Step | Who is responsible |
|---|---|
| Brief | You, with your designer |
| Concept design and design development | Your designer |
| Planning permit | Your council |
| Building permit drawings | A registered building designer or registered architect |
| Building permit | A registered building surveyor |
| Construction | Your builder |
Where we fit
We work at steps one to three: the brief, concept design and design development in 3D. We do not prepare building permit drawings. You take a resolved design to your builder, registered building designer or architect for documentation.
See renovation and extension design for how we run those first three steps.
Sources
Diego Benavides leads Diego Benavides Design, a Melbourne studio for architectural visualisation and home design. This guide is general information, last checked on 7 October 2026. This is a general outline. Your council or a registered building surveyor can confirm which permits your project needs.