Armadale Draftsman for City of Armadale Plans and Council Approval

The City of Armadale sizes sheds by lot area across eleven separate bands, from a 10 per cent site coverage limit on blocks under 600m2 up to 300m2 of floor area on holdings over 4 hectares. It is the most finely graded outbuilding table of any council in Perth, and it means your block size, not your R-code, decides what you can build.

Armadale also does something almost no other council allows: under specific conditions it will approve a shed on a lot before the house is built. This page sets out the table, the boundary wall rules and the conditions attached.

What an Armadale draftsman or Armadale drafter does for you

Armadale’s outbuilding policy applies specifically where the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions are not met, plus across all the rural and centre zones. So the first job is working out whether you need it at all.

For a City of Armadale project that means:

• Confirming the exact lot area, because the shed table has eleven bands and the jump between them is significant
• Testing the design against the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions first, since a compliant residential shed does not engage the policy
• Checking whether the lot sits inside an approved development envelope, which is common on the rural and special rural land
• Checking whether a local development plan applies, since Armadale uses these to streamline approval in the newer estates
• Checking Town Planning Scheme No. 4 clause 4.9, and PLN 3.7 where the property is in the Araluen Residential Estate
• Preparing documentation to the City’s lodgement standard

We draw architectural and planning documentation. We do not produce structural engineering drawings or electrical design.

What “Armadale council approval” actually means

People use “council approval” to cover two or three separate things. They are assessed by different people under different legislation, and most projects do not need all of them.

A building permit. The construction approval under the Building Act 2011, covering structural adequacy, fire separation, energy efficiency and compliance with the National Construction Code. You will almost always need this one.

Development approval, also called planning approval or a DA. The planning assessment against the R-Codes, the local planning scheme and the council’s own local planning policies, covering siting, setbacks, height, bulk, open space and streetscape.

Here is the part that saves people time and money. On most smaller residential jobs, development approval is only needed where the design does not meet the deemed-to-comply provisions of the R-Codes. Draw a patio, shed or carport inside the numbers and you generally go straight to a building permit. Step outside them and you are asking for a variation, and the variation is what triggers the planning application.

A deemed-to-comply check. This is the step most people have never heard of. Where no development approval is needed, your building surveyor still needs evidence of that before issuing a certificate of design compliance. A number of WA councils run a formal written check for exactly this purpose, and some expect it before a building permit will proceed even where the design fully complies. Fees and turnarounds vary widely: the Town of Victoria Park charges $73, while the Town of Cambridge charges $295 for a new single house and $100 for additions, with a 14 day response. Ask the council early whether they run one and whether they expect it before a building permit, because it changes your program and your budget.

One rule holds everywhere. Being exempt from development approval does not exempt you from a building permit.

City of Armadale building rules for sheds and outbuildings

Policy PLN 3.4 sets maximum outbuilding dimensions by lot size. Floor area limits apply in aggregate, so every outbuilding on the lot counts toward the same figure.

Lot size	Maximum floor area	Top of external wall	Top of pitched roof
Less than 600m2	**10% of site area**	2.4m	4.2m
600m2 and over	60m2	2.7m	4.2m
1,000m2 and over	70m2	3.0m	4.2m
1,500m2 and over	80m2	3.0m	4.2m
2,000m2 and over	100m2	3.0m	4.2m
3,000m2 and over	110m2	3.0m	4.2m
4,000m2 and over	130m2	3.0m	4.5m
6,000m2 and over	150m2	3.0m	4.5m
1 hectare and over	200m2	3.6m	5.0m
2 hectares and over	250m2	3.6m	5.0m
4 hectares and over	300m2	3.6m	5.0m

Three details worth knowing:

• Floor area includes all enclosed roofed areas but excludes areas beneath eaves and verandahs. That is a useful measurement rule. An awning off the side of the shed does not eat into your allowance
• Height is measured from natural ground level immediately below the relevant point, except on lots with modified levels from an approved subdivision, where it runs from the approved subdivision levels
• On land coded R5 or less, and in the Special Rural, Rural Living and General Rural zones, total building coverage is capped at 500m2 under the Scheme, which sits over the top of the table

The table does not apply on General Rural land where the outbuilding is used in pursuance of an approved agricultural activity.

Boundary walls for Armadale outbuildings

An outbuilding may be approved up to a side or rear boundary on Residential lots coded R10 or greater, subject to all of the following:

• The external side of the wall facing or on the boundary is finished in face brick, rendered and painted brick, or Colorbond, in colours complementing the dwelling
• The proposal is advertised to the affected adjoining landowners, and no objection the City considers reasonable and justified is received
• The boundary does not adjoin a road classified District Distributor or higher
• The wall height accords with the lot size band in the table
• The wall length and location comply with R-Codes clause 5.1.3 C3.2, calculated in aggregate with other boundary walls existing or proposed on the site
• The outbuilding is not outside an approved development envelope
• It complies with the building code

That aggregate wall length calculation catches people. An existing garage or patio already on the boundary reduces what is left for the shed.

The Armadale shed before the house provision

Most councils will not let you build a shed on a lot with no dwelling. Armadale will, for up to 24 months, subject to five conditions:

1. The lot is zoned Special Residential, Special Rural, Rural Living or General Rural
2. Both planning and building approval for a dwelling on the lot have already been granted and remain valid
3. The footings and ground level pad of the approved dwelling are fully constructed or installed before the outbuilding starts
4. The approved dwelling is constructed within 24 months of the outbuilding being approved
5. The outbuilding complies with everything else in the policy

That is a genuinely useful provision if you are building on a rural block and need secure storage on site during construction. It is also strictly conditional, and condition 3 in particular means you cannot simply put the shed up first.

Armadale outbuilding use and materials

• An outbuilding must be incidental to a dwelling and cannot be used for commercial or industrial purposes
• An outbuilding cannot be used for habitation in any zone, temporarily or permanently
• Materials and colours must complement the dwelling and surroundings, particularly where the outbuilding sits forward of the front building line
• The City does not support sea containers being used as outbuildings, and the policy definition of an outbuilding specifically excludes them

Outbuildings must not sit forward of the front building line of the dwelling or the required street setback, whichever is greater. The City may allow it in exceptional circumstances where topography or the need to retain vegetation makes it appropriate and streetscape amenity is not harmed, and screening may be required.

Patios and fire separation in Armadale

A patio is assessed under the R-Codes rather than the outbuilding policy, and fire separation is decided separately at building permit stage.

Western Australia adopted NCC 2025 on 1 May 2026, introducing WA Part 9.6 for roofed outdoor areas. It gives two routes to the boundary: 900mm measured to the outermost structural projection and excluding the eave overhang, or 500mm measured to the outermost projection and including the eave overhang.

The 500mm route carries conditions including two or more sides open with at least one third of the perimeter open, a non-combustible supporting structure, a polycarbonate or non-combustible roof covering, a non-combustible floor, no direct vertical support to the house, and a solid non-combustible screen at least 1500mm high along every side facing a boundary. Where that does not suit the build, use the 900mm route.

Note that Armadale takes in significant hills country through Roleystone, Bedfordale and Karragullen, much of it bushfire prone. Where a Bushfire Attack Level assessment is triggered, it affects construction materials and needs to be established before the design is finalised rather than after.

Armadale plans we prepare

Project type	What we prepare
Sheds and workshops	Plans to the correct lot size band, with the aggregate floor area calculation
New single houses	Concept design through to submission documentation
Additions and extensions	Existing and proposed plans, demolition plan
Second storey additions	Full working drawings, elevations, sections
Patios and carports	Plans with the fire separation route identified
Ancillary dwellings	Plans and area calculations to the 70m2 limit
Boundary wall proposals	Plans with the aggregate wall length calculation and materials schedule
Retaining walls and front fences	Plans including sight line truncation

Armadale projects and what they teach you

Work across the City of Armadale is a regular part of what we do, spanning carports, patios and additions through the established suburbs, and newer estate work through Piara Waters, Harrisdale and Hilbert.

The lesson Armadale teaches is that lot area is the first number to establish, not the R-code. With eleven bands in the table, a block that is 20 square metres short of the next threshold costs you real shed floor area and, in several bands, wall height as well. Get the area off the title before designing.

The second lesson concerns boundary walls. Because Armadale requires the proposal to be advertised to affected neighbours and allows a reasonable objection to defeat it, a boundary wall shed is not a certainty even where every number complies. That conversation is better had early.

What City of Armadale approval costs

Planning application fees are set by state regulation and are the same at every WA council, calculated on the estimated cost of development:

Estimated cost of development	Application fee
Not more than $50,000	$147
$50,001 to $500,000	0.32% of the estimated cost
$500,001 to $2.5 million	$1,700 plus 0.257% of the amount above $500,000
Written planning advice	$73
Amending or cancelling an approval	$295

If the work has already been built, the fee is that figure plus a penalty of twice the fee, so three times the normal amount.

Where the construction value is $20,000 or more, the building permit must be granted to a registered builder or an owner-builder. On a bushfire prone lot in the hills, budget separately for a Bushfire Attack Level assessment.

Our drafting fee is quoted per project rather than by a rate card, because a flat estate lot in Piara Waters and a sloping bushfire prone block in Roleystone are not the same job. As a rough guide only, a patio or shed submission sits at the lower end, an addition in the middle, and a new house or a large rural workshop at the upper end. You get a fixed figure before we start.

How long the drawings take

We are one of the quicker drafting practices in Perth, and we would rather tell you that plainly than quote a number we cannot stand behind.

Turnaround depends on what is being drawn. A patio or a shed is not a second storey addition, and a straightforward flat block is not a sloping site with an existing dwelling to survey and match into. Anyone quoting you a fixed timeframe before seeing the scope is guessing.

What we do is give you a realistic date once we have seen the project, and then keep to it. If we cannot hit something you need, we say so before you commit rather than after.

It is also worth knowing that on most jobs the drafting is not the long pole. The parts that usually set the overall timeline are:

• The council clock, which is set by regulation rather than by us
• Third party reports, such as a Bushfire Attack Level assessment, an arborist report or engineering certification, each of which has its own lead time
• Decisions, meaning how quickly changes come back once you have the first draft in front of you

Those are the things worth planning around, and we will tell you which of them apply to your project at the start.

Draftsman services by Armadale suburb

The City of Armadale runs from the newer northern estates down through the established centre and up into the hills.

Suburb	What tends to drive the design
Piara Waters, Harrisdale and Hilbert draftsman	Newer estate lots under 600m2, so the 10 per cent site coverage band applies and garage width matters
Haynes, Wungong and Forrestdale draftsman	Growth corridor with local development plans over the R-Codes
Armadale, Kelmscott and Seville Grove draftsman	Established stock, larger blocks in parts, additions and outbuilding work dominates
Camillo and Brookdale draftsman	Older residential, ancillary dwellings and shed work common
Champion Lakes draftsman	Estate with local development plans and design guidelines
Mount Nasura and Mount Richon draftsman	Sloping sites, retaining and site works often govern the design
Roleystone and Bedfordale draftsman	Hills lots, larger shed bands available, bushfire assessment usually triggered
Karragullen draftsman	Rural and orchard land, the largest shed bands apply and agricultural use may sit outside the table

Armadale draftsman questions

How big a shed can I build in Armadale?

It depends on your lot area, across eleven bands. Under 600m2 you are limited to 10 per cent of the site area with a 2.4m wall. At 600m2 you get 60m2 and a 2.7m wall. At 1,000m2 it rises to 70m2 and a 3.0m wall. From 1 hectare it is 200m2 with a 3.6m wall, rising to 300m2 over 4 hectares. Floor area limits apply in aggregate across every outbuilding on the lot.

Does my patio count toward my Armadale shed allowance?

Floor area is measured as all enclosed roofed areas but excludes areas beneath eaves and verandahs. An enclosed structure counts. An open verandah or awning does not.

Can I build a shed on the boundary in Armadale?

On a Residential lot coded R10 or greater, yes, but with conditions. The boundary-facing wall must be face brick, rendered and painted brick or Colorbond complementing the dwelling, the boundary must not adjoin a District Distributor road or higher, the wall length is calculated in aggregate with any existing boundary walls, and the proposal is advertised to the affected neighbours. A reasonable and justified objection can stop it.

Can I build a shed before the house in Armadale?

Yes, for up to 24 months, but only on land zoned Special Residential, Special Rural, Rural Living or General Rural, only where planning and building approval for the dwelling are already granted and valid, and only once the footings and ground level pad of the approved dwelling are fully constructed. The dwelling then has to be built within 24 months.

Can I live in a shed in Armadale while I build?

No. The policy states that an outbuilding shall not be used for habitation in any zone, on a temporary or permanent basis. The 24 month provision above allows storage during construction, not accommodation.