Unauthorised building work can take many forms from very minor technical breaches where there is little or no environmental harm to blatant breaches of environmental laws aimed at securing outcomes where approval would never have been granted had the proper application been made.

While Council attempts to be proactive in identifyiing unauthorised work, we rely heavily upon the public to make complaints and to provide evidence to assist Council in taking enforcement action. 

Enforcement action, if necessary may include:

• Notices and Orders requiring requiring the offender to do or refrain from doing something
• Prosecution for criminal offences
• Fines (Penalty Infringement Notices)
• Deeds of Settlement (Agreements as to what will happen to avoid or settle Court proceedings)
• Injunctions to restrain or remedy serious breaches (Court Orders)

Council does not have unlimited resources and must exercise discretion when deciding how to deal with unauthorised work, taking into account all relevant information including the available evidence, cost to the community of any action, the circumstances of the individual case and public policy and precedent considerations. How Council will apply its discretion is explained in Council's Enforcement Policy and we will always explain the reasons for our decisions.

One significant question that we ask in relation to unauthorised work is "Had the proper application been made would we have granted approval?"