State-by-state guide for carport council approval

If you're building a new carport, there's one important piece of regulation you need to consider. Do you need council approval for your carport?

Carport regulations vary from state to state and often even by council to council. Read on to find the standard building regulations for carports in Australia and what you need to consider when planning your carport.

Common considerations across the country carport building codes include the size of the carport, how far from the boundary it is and the materials used.

ACT carport council approval

In Canberra, you can build a carport without any regulations or approvals so long as it meets a few design considerations. For this, your carport must be:

• Less than 50sq/m

• Walls on no more than two sides

• The tops of the walls are 3m or less above ground level

Depending on design factors, the roof can extend as high as 4m, so long as the pitch of the roof is 30° or less.

Northern Territory carport council approval

Building a carport in NT always requires a carport. There are no exemptions for this (for size or any other reason) at this time. 

NSW carport council approval

Carports built on certain properties in New South Wales always require building approval. These are properties that are:

• On a foreshore

• On a heritage or draft heritage item

If your home is in bushfire prone land, you must use non-combustible materials (such as an aluminium carport) if it's within five metres of another structure. 

You have to make sure your carport is at least one metre behind the property boundary facing a public road. 

Other restricting factors for carports in NSW include only having the same number of carports as you have dwellings. For land with only one house, you can only have one carport. However, if you have, for example, a granny flat, you can have a second carport. For more parking space, you may want to consider a double carport. 

You should also consider other approvals, like when you have to remove trees to build a carport. 

Queensland carport council approval

In Queensland, you can only build a carport on properties that have a house on them. A big factor in your application is the type of property you live on (eg rural or township), the density of the residential zone and if the zone has any defining characteristics that your design has to stick to. 

If you're building a new house and you want a carport on your land, this should be included in the application process for your home. 

You may also require a driveway permit if you are changing where vehicles entre your property.

South Australia carport council approval

In South Australia, there are a few exemptions for carports where they don't need council approval. This is true of carport designs that are:

• Less than 15 sq/m (10 sq/m in Historic Conservation Areas)

• A distance between posts of less than 3m

• Height 2.5m or less above ground level

• At least 90cm away from a secondary street boundary

• At least 6m away from an intersection of two roads

• Is not attached to another building

If your carport idea doesn't fit all of these guidelines, you'll have to get council approval. 

Tasmania carport council approval

In Tasmania, you need to check planning regulations for all structures. There are also several things you need to consider when building a carport. 

The first is size. If your carport has a floor area of more than 18sq/m (non-prefabricated) or 36sq/m (prefabricated), then you need to hire a licensed builder to construct it. 

You may also need to notify council on completion of your project, even if you've built it yourself. This is true for all carports over 18sq/m, regardless of whether they're prefabricated or not. 

Victoria carport council approval

Victoria has some of the most flexible carport building regulations. Whether you need council approval or not depends a lot on the design of your carport. 

For example, you do not need approval if your carport:

• Has a floor area of 10sq/m or less

• Is no taller than 3m at any point

• Is more than 2m from your boundary line

• Is not connected to your home

• Is not a masonry project

If your carport design doesn't fit with any of these checks, then you will need council approval.

Western Australia carport council approval

Councils in Western Australia have some of the most variable rules in the country. 

Many councils agree on generic rules -- like a carport should match the finishing of its accompanying home -- but often vary on the specifics. 

Often they agree on a ruling -- for example, that a carport needs to be a certain distance from the property boundary before it needs council approval. However, the distance isn't always the same: in Belmont it needs to be at least two metres away from the front boundary to avoid council regulations but in Joondalup it's just one metre. 

Other permits, like a building permit, may also be required.