
Examples of retaining walls
A retaining wall is designed to hold back filling soil or to support excavation work.
You may need a Planning Permit, Building Permit or both to build a retaining wall.
To help you work out which permits you need, begin at Step 1 and answer the questions one at a time. You may be asked to look at property zoning, measure the wall, and assess the wall's position in relation to property boundaries.
Before finalising your design:
Contact Statutory Planning or Building Services for general enquiries, or if you need help with either a Planning or Building Permit.
Go to VicPlan and search for the address of your property.
Follow the prompts to create and open a free Planning Property Report.
If the property is on the Victorian Heritage Register:
Refer to the map from VicPlan to see whether the proposed works fall within any of the following:
Refer to the report from VicPlan and look at the zoning information for the property.
See whether the property is in a Commercial 1 Zone or Commercial 2 Zone.
Refer to the report from VicPlan. See whether the property is in any of the following zones:
As a property owner in a General Residential, Neighbourhood Residential, Mixed Use or Residential Growth Zone, consider whether the retaining wall will be used for a non-residential function. For example, will it be used as part of a medical centre?
If the retaining wall is for residential purposes, you won't need to apply for a Planning Permit.
If the wall is for non-residential purposes, contact Statutory Planning to discuss any specific planning requirements and exemptions for your circumstances.
Aside from Commercial 1 and 2 Zones and the residential and mixed use zones, the property may fall into a number of other zones.
Refer to the report from VicPlan to see which non-residential zone affects your property. Then email Statutory Planning to discuss the specific planning requirements and exemptions for that zone.
Measure the distance from the top of the retaining wall to its lowest point.
Retaining walls that support excavation have different constraints to walls that support a filling.
Refer to the height measurements of the retaining wall.
A wall that supports excavation must be more than 400mm away from other structures and buildings.
Refer to the site plan to assess the position of the wall in relation to boundaries.
Walls supporting excavation that are over 400mm in height must be set back from the boundaries the same distance as the height of the wall (1:1 ratio).
For example, if the wall is 600mm high, it needs to be placed at least 600mm away from any property boundaries.
If you have determined that you need a Building Permit for your project:
You can only begin your construction after the Building Permit is granted.
You may exit the guide.
Statutory Planning aims to respond to Planning Permit applications within 60 days, as governed by the Planning and Environment Act.
Building Permit applications are assessed within 10 business days. The response is usually a request for further information that is required before a Building Permit can be issued.