Certified application (WA building permit)
A certified application is the WA building-permit path (BA1/BA3) lodged with a surveyor's certificate of design compliance, faster than the uncertified BA2 path.
Ask Chalkline about this →A certified application is the Western Australian building-permit application type (a BA1 form for a new building, a BA3 for alterations) lodged together with a certificate of design compliance from a private building surveyor. It is the faster, cheaper path compared with the uncertified (BA2) application, where the permit authority itself does the compliance checking.
Building permits in WA run under the Building Act 2011, and the two paths differ in who checks the design:
- Certified (BA1 / BA3): an independent building surveyor checks the design against the NCC and issues a certificate of design compliance (CDC). The permit authority (council) then issues the permit largely as an administrative step, with a short statutory turnaround.
- Uncertified (BA2): the permit authority’s own surveyor does the compliance checking, which generally takes longer.
Class 2 to 9 (commercial) buildings must use the certified path. Class 1 and Class 10 (houses, sheds, and the like) can use either.
For a builder the practical point is that the certified path puts the timeline largely in your control: you engage the surveyor, get the CDC, and the council’s clock is short. The work to do up front is the CDC itself, which means the design has to be NCC-compliant and properly documented before you lodge. For anything time-sensitive, the certified application is usually the path to take. See building permits in WA.
Also known as: Certified building permit application, BA1 application.
Category: Approvals / Western Australia.
Related
See also
References
- Building Act 2011 (WA) (verified 2026-06-01)
Last updated: 2026-06-01. Verified: 2026-06-01. Quarterly review for currency.