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Notice of Commencement

Notice of Commencement in NSW: give 2 days' notice to council and your PCA before building starts, lodged via the NSW Planning Portal. QLD and VIC equivalents explained.

By Dan Waring. Last updated 9 May 2026. Verified 9 May 2026.

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A Notice of Commencement is the statutory notification that building work is about to start on site. In NSW, s 6.6 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 requires the person with the benefit of the development consent (the owner, not the builder) to give at least 2 days’ notice to the council and the appointed PCA before work begins (verified 2026-05-09). Since 1 July 2021, it must be submitted via the NSW Planning Portal. The Construction Certificate (CC) must already be issued and the PCA formally appointed before the notice can go in.

The notice also records physical commencement, which is relevant to consent lapsing: under s 4.53 EP&A Act, a DA consent lapses after 5 years unless real construction work has started. For consents granted after 15 May 2020, bore holes, survey pegs, and vegetation clearing alone no longer count (verified 2026-05-09 via BAL Lawyers).

State differences. In QLD the commencement notice runs from the builder to the homeowner (not to council). Under Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act 1991, for contracts of $20,000 or more the builder must give written notice within 10 business days of work starting, stating the start date and anticipated practical completion date (verified 2026-05-09 via QBCC). VIC has no equivalent form; instead, the builder notifies the Building Surveyor at mandatory inspection stages, and a building permit lapses if work has not commenced within 12 months.

Also known as: Intention to Commence Work (NSW Planning Portal), NOC.

Category: Approvals.

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Last updated: 2026-05-09. Verified: 2026-05-09. Quarterly review for currency.

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