The short version
Restumping, reblocking and underpinning need a building permit in Victoria. The permit comes from a private registered building surveyor, because Baw Baw Shire Council does not issue them. The builder must be registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission whatever the job costs. Over $10,000 the job needs a written major domestic building contract, over $20,000 the builder must take out Home Warranty insurance, and before materials land on the nature strip the council wants an asset protection permit. That is the whole list for an ordinary restump. The rest of this page is where each line comes from.
Why a restump needs a building permit
The Building and Plumbing Commission's practice note BP-01 on when a building permit is required starts from the position that any proposed building work must have a permit unless exempted, and then lists the exemptions in Schedule 3 of the Building Regulations 2018. The exemption for repair, renewal or maintenance of part of an existing building applies only where the work will not adversely affect the structural soundness of the building and does not include an increase or decrease in the floor area or height, or underpinning or replacement of footings, or the removal or alteration of any element contributing to the support of another element. Stumps are footings. Bearers support joists and joists support the floor. So replacing stumps, underpinning a footing or replacing a bearer is outside the exemption and needs a permit. Relevelling on existing sound stumps, with nothing replaced, is the one job on this site that can sit inside the exemption, and a surveyor makes that call.
Baw Baw Shire's own position is blunt: its building page says that nearly anything that is built requires a building permit and that council is obliged to initiate legal proceedings in respect of illegal building work. It also says most building permits in the shire need an asset protection permit from council as well.
Who issues it
A private registered building surveyor. Council's page states that it does not issue building permits and that applications may be lodged with any privately operating building surveyor; council stopped issuing permits in 1997 and keeps a statutory building control role, with a portal for private surveyors to lodge documents. In practice the restumper nominates a surveyor they work with, the surveyor checks the overlays on the property, asks for the engineer's design if the job is underpinning, issues the permit, inspects at the stages the permit sets, and issues the final certificate. The permit fee is part of the quote or shown separately, and the quote should say which.
Who can do the work
A builder registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission. Victoria's general threshold for registration of domestic builders has been $10,000 since 2017, but the Commission, then the VBA, clarified in the same year that any builder in the business of re-blocking or restumping a home is still required to be registered regardless of the cost of the work. Consumer Affairs Victoria repeats it: a builder must be registered to restump, reblock, demolish or remove a home regardless of the value of the work. A specific limited registration class exists for restumping and reblocking. Ask for the registration number with the quote and check it on the Commission's practitioner register, .
The Commission replaced the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2025 and took over the domestic building insurance scheme from the VMIA at the same time, so older paperwork will say VBA and DBI where current paperwork says BPC and Home Warranty.
Contracts and insurance
| Threshold | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Any value | Builder must be registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission for restumping and reblocking. | Commission clarification, 2017 |
| Over $10,000 | A written major domestic building contract under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, with the content Consumer Affairs Victoria lists. | Consumer Affairs Victoria |
| Over $16,000 | Historical: domestic building insurance was required above this figure before 1 July 2026. Owner-builders still need a certificate of consent above it. | Consumer Affairs Victoria, Baw Baw Shire |
| Over $20,000 | From 1 July 2026 the builder must take out Home Warranty insurance through the Commission after signing the contract, for homes up to three storeys. The builder pays the premium and the owner receives a notice of cover. | Consumer Affairs Victoria, Commission |
Consumer Affairs Victoria's domestic building consumer guide sets out the change: before 1 July 2026 the builder should have had domestic building insurance for work over $16,000; from 1 July 2026 the builder must take out Home Warranty insurance where the work costs more than $20,000. The Commission's insurance page says eligible building work over $20,000 must have the mandatory cover and that the registered builder is responsible for the premium.
Baw Baw Shire's part
- Asset protection permit. Under the Community Local Law 2024 the person in charge of building works must obtain an asset protection permit before works start. Council lists having construction materials or equipment delivered to the property among the triggers. The fee was $305.40 from 1 July 2026, and during a 12 month trial no bond is required for residential construction. The quote should say who lodges it.
- Road reserve works permit. Council consent is required for any works within a road reserve, with a fee of $103.90. Relevant if an agricultural drain discharges at the kerb or a crossover is used by a machine.
- Report and consent. Where the house is on flood-prone land, council's consent under regulations 153 and 154 is needed with written advice from Melbourne Water or the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, and where work is near an easement, regulation 130 applies with footings and excavation limits required. Council's page says a report and consent cannot be obtained once a building permit has already been issued, so the surveyor asks first.
- Owner-builders. Council's building page says an owner-builder carrying out domestic building work valued over $16,000 must first obtain a certificate of consent. For restumping the registration rule above means an owner-builder is rarely the right route.
Across the shire boundary
Bunyip and Garfield are in Cardinia Shire; Longwarry, the next town east, is the Baw Baw side of the boundary. The Building Act, the Commission's registration rule and the contract and insurance thresholds are identical, because they are state law. The council layer changes: Cardinia's asset protection permit under its own Community Local Law 2024 is listed at $377 for a single lot dwelling plus a $100 administration fee. The Longwarry, Bunyip and Garfield page covers it.
What a permit cannot do
A building permit cannot make a restumper competent; the registration and the inspection do that. It cannot be obtained from council, however many times you ring. For underpinning the surveyor asks for an engineer's design before issuing it. It cannot cover work that started before it was issued, and a surveyor asked to permit work already done has a different and harder conversation. And it does not replace the contract: over $10,000 the written major domestic building contract is a separate legal requirement with its own content.
Check the current rules before you rely on this
This page summarises the building permit, registration, contract, insurance and council permit requirements for restumping in Baw Baw Shire. It describes the rules in general terms as they stood in October 2026. Standards, forms, thresholds and fines change.
The authoritative sources are Building and Plumbing Commission practice note BP-01, when is a building permit required, Building Regulations 2018, Building Act 1993, Building and Plumbing Commission (as the VBA) on registration being required for restumping and reblocking at any value, Consumer Affairs Victoria, preparing a major domestic building contract, Consumer Affairs Victoria domestic building consumer guide, Building and Plumbing Commission on domestic building insurance and Home Warranty cover, Baw Baw Shire Council on building permits, Baw Baw Shire Council on asset protection, nature strips and road reserves and Baw Baw Shire Council on report and consent. Where anything here differs from those sources, they are right and we are not.
We are not building surveyors, engineers, planners or lawyers. For what applies to your house, ask a registered building surveyor or ring Baw Baw Shire Council on 03 5624 2411.
Accurate at the time of writing, October 2026. Always check the source before relying on it.