Consent for works by a public authority or utility company

Overview

You must apply for our consent to do works within the road reserve on Council land, if you are:

a utility company
a road authority
a public transport operator
an individual working for one of these companies.

Submit an application 20 business days before starting works.

Public authorities must reinstate Council land to the same or better condition than before works started.

Exemptions from applying for consent

Minor works

You don’t need to apply for consent if you’re doing minor works where:

the excavation area is smaller than 8.5 m2
there’s no impact to traffic.

Read the Road Management (Works and Infrastructure) Regulations on the Legislation Victoria website for a full list of exemptions.

If you’re exempt from applying for consent, you must still notify us of the upcoming works by emailing us at [email protected].

In your email, include:

why you are exempt
the dates works will occur
if you will be doing a temporary or permanent reinstatement
an attachment of your site plan.

Declared roads

If the work is on a declared road (freeways, arterial roads and non-arterial state roads), your traffic management company will need to apply for consent with the Department of Transport and Planning (formerly VicRoads).

Visit the Transport Victoria website to check if your works are on a declared road. If they are, you still need to notify us by emailing us at [email protected].

In your email, include:

that you’re exempt because your works are on a declared road
the dates works will occur
when you’ll be doing a temporary or permanent reinstatement
an attachment of your site plan.

Emergency works

Emergency works are short-term, unplanned works which need urgent attention.

You don’t need to apply for consent when responding to emergency works, such as:

gas leaks
burst water mains
power lines over the road.

If you need to complete emergency works, you must:

complete the works
make the site safe
complete a temporary or permanent reinstatement
notify us within 48 hours of completing works.

We’ll explain the next steps based on your situation.

Works near trees

Prepare your documents

Include the following documents with your application:

Certificate of Currency for $20 million of public liability insurance
site plan
Traffic Management Plan or Traffic Guidance Scheme.

Depending on where your works are taking place, you may need to also include:

Before You Dig report
notification letter to impacted residents
tree management plan
Department of Transport and Planning Memorandum of Authorisation

If your works impact public transport operation, you'll also need consent from the relevant authority or operator.

Apply online

Apply online for consent, and include:

information about where the works are occuring
a description of works
the size of the excavation
all supporting documents
payment of the required fee
whether you need access to a park.

Apply for consent

We’ll contact you if we need more information.

Once we have all the information, we’ll email you with a decision within 20 business days.

Completing works

If you receive consent to complete works, we will email you information on the conditions you need to follow.

When works are complete, you’ll need to:

permanently reinstate assets to council standards within 28 days. See our Standard drawings page for more information
notify us within 7 days of completing the permanent reinstatement
email [email protected] to explain how you have reinstated our assets.

Fees

Fees vary depending on the location and size of the excavation.

Minor works: less than 8.5 m2

Location or impact of works	Cost
Works conducted on road, path or shoulder	$151.90
Works that aren’t conducted on road, path or shoulder	$98
Works that don’t impact traffic	$0 (exempt from applying for consent)

Major works: greater than 8.5 m2

Location of works

Speed limit of road and cost

Works conducted on road, path or shoulder

50km/h or less - $383.80

More than 50 km/h - $703.80

Works that aren’t conducted on road, path or shoulder

50km/h or less - $98

More than 50 km/h - $383.80

More information

For help or advice, email [email protected] or call us on (03) 9278 4444.