Fremantle Draftsman

Fremantle Draftsman for City of Fremantle Plans and Council Approval

In most Perth councils, whether you need development approval depends on your numbers. In the City of Fremantle it depends first on your heritage status, and there are four different heritage statuses with four different sets of consequences.

Local Planning Policy 1.7 lists 38 categories of work that are exempt from development approval, and almost every one is conditioned on which of those four your property falls into. This page sets out how the tiers work and what each one lets you do.

What a Fremantle draftsman or Fremantle drafter does for you

Fremantle work starts with a heritage search, not a tape measure. Establishing status first determines everything that follows.

For a City of Fremantle project that means:

Establishing whether the property is on the State Register of Heritage Places, subject to a Heritage Order or Agreement, on the City’s Heritage List, or inside a Heritage Area
Where it is in a Heritage Area, checking whether it is listed as a contributory property under LPP 3.6.1, because that changes which provisions apply
Checking whether the lot sits in Special Control Area 5.7, which removes several exemptions outright
Checking for regulated trees under LPP 2.26 Tree Retention, which override the exemptions entirely
Testing the design against Local Planning Scheme No. 4, LPP 1.7 and the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions
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 “Fremantle council approval” actually means

People use “council approval” to cover two or three separate things. They are assessed by different people under different legislation.

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, Local Planning Scheme No. 4 and the City’s local planning policies. 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, or where the property’s heritage status removes the exemption.

A deemed-to-comply check. Several WA councils run a formal written check confirming that development approval is not required. The Town of Victoria Park charges $73, and the Town of Cambridge charges $295 for a new single house or $100 for additions with a 14 day response. Ask early whether the council you are dealing with runs one and whether your building surveyor will want it.

The City of Fremantle states the underlying rule plainly in LPP 1.7 itself: an exemption from the requirement to obtain development approval does not remove the need to seek and obtain any other approval which may be required under any other written law, such as the Building Act, Strata Titles Act, Heritage of Western Australia Act or Dividing Fences Act.

Put more simply: being exempt from development approval does not exempt you from a building permit. In Fremantle it may not exempt you from a heritage approval either.

The four heritage statuses in Fremantle

Nearly every exemption in LPP 1.7 is conditioned on the place not being in one of these categories. Working out which applies to your property is the first job.

Status	What it means for exemptions
State Register of Heritage Places	The most protected. Effectively no exemptions apply. Assume development approval and heritage approval are both required
Heritage Order or Agreement under Part 6 of the Heritage Act	Same practical effect. Exemptions consistently exclude these places
The City’s Heritage List	Some exemptions available, several written specifically for listed places, and the List has sub-levels. Level 1B and Level 3 are treated differently
Heritage Area	The most workable tier. A substantial set of exemptions is written specifically for Heritage Areas, subject to conditions

Two further overlays sit on top:

Special Control Area 5.7 removes a number of Heritage Area exemptions, including additions, outbuildings, patios and shade structures
Contributory status. Where LPP 3.6.1 provides a list of contributory properties for a Heritage Area, certain provisions apply only to properties listed as contributory. Where an area has no such list, the provisions apply to every property in it

City of Fremantle building rules for outbuildings, patios and shade structures

Outbuildings

In a Heritage Area, a new outbuilding is exempt from development approval where it meets the relevant R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions, and the place is not on the State Register, not subject to a Heritage Order or Agreement, not on the Heritage List, and not in Special Control Area 5.7.

On a place listed as Level 3 on the Heritage List, a new outbuilding is exempt where it is located between the dwelling and the rear lot boundary, excluding secondary street setback areas, and complies with the applicable R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions and any relevant local planning policy.

Note the difference. For a Level 3 listed place the outbuilding must sit toward the rear boundary specifically. Most other Fremantle exemptions allow the side or rear.

Patios

In a Heritage Area, a patio is exempt where:

The works sit between the dwelling and the side or rear lot boundary, excluding secondary street setback areas
Side additions meet the side addition criteria of LPP 3.6, and rear additions meet the rear addition criteria
The works meet the relevant R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions
The place is not on the State Register, not subject to a Heritage Order or Agreement, not on the Heritage List, and not in Special Control Area 5.7

Shade structures

In a Heritage Area, a shade structure is exempt where it sits between the dwelling and the side or rear lot boundary, is more than 1 metre from any boundary, and is no greater than 3 metres in height and 25m2 in area, subject to the same heritage exclusions.

That 25m2 and 3m combination is a hard cap. Unlike the patio provision, there is no route to the boundary here.

Additions and alterations in Fremantle

A single house in a Heritage Area can have single storey ground level additions and all alterations without development approval, where:

The works are located between the dwelling and the side or rear lot boundary, excluding secondary street setback areas
Side additions meet the LPP 3.6 side addition criteria and rear additions meet the rear addition criteria
All additions comply with the applicable R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions and any other relevant local planning policy
The place is not on the State Register, not subject to a Heritage Order or Agreement, not on the Heritage List, and not in Special Control Area 5.7

Grouped dwellings get the same exemption with one extra condition: no boundary walls are proposed unless the boundary wall abuts an existing or simultaneously constructed boundary wall of the same or greater dimension.

Note what is not included. This exemption covers single storey ground level work only. A second storey addition in a Heritage Area is a development application.

The Fremantle detail people miss

LPP 1.7 contains a set of smaller provisions that decide a surprising number of jobs.

Work	Condition
Retaining wall	Less than 500mm above natural ground level
Filling or excavation	No more than 500mm change to natural ground level
Outdoor hard surfaces	Finished level no more than 500mm above natural ground level, meeting the R-Codes deemed-to-comply landscaping provisions
Screening on a dividing fence	Projects no more than 500mm above the top of the fence, and not in a primary or secondary street setback
Minor structures	Maximum 2m high within the primary street setback (excluding clothes lines), maximum 3m outside it
Flag poles	Freestanding, maximum 6m, not used for advertising
Water tanks on a listed place or in a Heritage Area	Fixed to a wall facing the rear or a side boundary at no more than eaves height, or freestanding between the dwelling and the side or rear boundary at 2.4m if more than 1m from a boundary, or 1.8m if less than 1m
Air conditioning units	No more than 1.8m high on a wall facing a side boundary, or on a wall or roof plane facing the rear boundary not exceeding the highest part of the roof, or on a flat roof (not Heritage List) no more than 1m above the highest part of the roof
Swimming pools and spas in a Heritage Area	Between the dwelling and the rear boundary, no greater than 1.8m in height
Temporary works	In existence for less than 14 days, or longer if the City agrees, and not signs or advertisements

That 14 day allowance for temporary works is more generous than most councils, which typically stop at 48 hours.

Demolition in a Heritage Area

Demolition of outbuildings, minor structures, patios, shade structures, carports, external fixtures, air conditioners, pools and spas, flag poles and water tanks in a Heritage Area is exempt. But for an outbuilding there are two extra conditions: it must not be of masonry or limestone construction, and it must have a floor area of less than 25m2.

On an old Fremantle block, a limestone outbuilding is exactly the thing that will not qualify.

The four things that override every Fremantle exemption

LPP 1.7 sets out four caveats that sit above the entire table. These are worth knowing because they catch designs that otherwise comply perfectly.

Regulated trees. An exemption does not apply if the work results in tree-damaging activity to a regulated tree, unless otherwise exempt under LPP 2.26 Tree Retention. The City also maintains a Register of Significant Trees and Vegetation Areas
Bushfire Prone Areas and Special Control Areas. Development approval may still be required for work on land in these areas
Existing approval conditions. An exempt development cannot contravene any valid condition of an existing development approval
Other legislation. An exemption from development approval does not remove the need for approval under the Building Act, Strata Titles Act, Heritage of Western Australia Act or Dividing Fences Act

Point 1 is the most commonly missed. A mature tree on a Fremantle block can convert an otherwise exempt project into a development application on its own.

Patios and fire separation in Fremantle

Fire separation is decided at building permit stage, separately from the heritage and planning questions.

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.

On Fremantle’s older, tighter lots, boundary proximity is the norm, so this is a live design decision rather than an afterthought.

Fremantle plans we prepare

Project type	What we prepare
Additions and alterations to character housing	Existing and proposed plans worked to the LPP 3.6 side and rear addition criteria
Second storey additions	Full working drawings, elevations, sections, with a development application in Heritage Areas
Renovations to listed and Heritage Area properties	Plans plus the heritage justification the application needs
New single houses on infill lots	Concept design through to submission documentation
Patios and shade structures	Plans tested against the correct heritage tier and the fire separation route
Sheds and outbuildings	Plans tested against the R-Codes and the applicable heritage provision
Retaining walls, fences and hard surfaces	Plans with levels, noting the 500mm thresholds
Development applications	Documentation and written justification

Fremantle projects and what they teach you

Work across the City of Fremantle is a regular part of what we do, on the character stock through Fremantle, South Fremantle, Beaconsfield and White Gum Valley where heritage status shapes almost every decision.

The lesson Fremantle teaches is sequence. Establish heritage status, then contributory status, then Special Control Area, then regulated trees, and only then start designing. A design produced before those four answers are in hand is a design that may have to change.

The second lesson is that heritage status is not binary. There is a real difference between a place on the State Register, a place on the Heritage List at Level 3, and a non-contributory property in a Heritage Area. Each has a different set of things you can do without an application, and knowing which one you are in is worth a lot of time.

What City of Fremantle approval costs

Development 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.

On a heritage project, budget for the heritage justification the application will need, and where a regulated tree is involved, for an arborist report. Neither forms part of a drafting fee.

Our drafting fee is quoted per project rather than by a rate card, because a rear addition in Hilton and a listed cottage in South Fremantle are not the same job. As a rough guide only, a patio or shed submission sits at the lower end, a renovation or addition in the middle, and a new house, second storey or heritage project 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 Fremantle suburb

The City of Fremantle covers the port city and the suburbs immediately south and east of it, and heritage runs through most of them.

Suburb	What tends to drive the design
Fremantle draftsman	The most heritage constrained part of the City, check State Register and Heritage List status first
South Fremantle draftsman	Extensive Heritage Areas and character stock, contributory status matters
North Fremantle draftsman	Character housing and Heritage Areas, river and rail proximity in parts
Beaconsfield draftsman	Mixed character and post-war stock, rear additions and outbuildings common work
White Gum Valley draftsman	Character housing with mature tree cover, regulated trees are a live issue
Hilton draftsman	Post-war stock with a distinctive character, additions and second storeys dominate
Samson and O’Connor draftsman	Later stock and mixed use, generally the least heritage constrained parts of the City

Fremantle draftsman questions

Do I need development approval for a patio in Fremantle?

It depends on your heritage status. In a Heritage Area a patio is exempt where it sits between the dwelling and the side or rear boundary, meets the LPP 3.6 addition criteria and the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions, and the place is not on the State Register, not subject to a Heritage Order, not on the Heritage List and not in Special Control Area 5.7. On a State Register property, assume an application is required.

Can I do a second storey addition in a Fremantle Heritage Area without approval?

No. The Heritage Area exemption covers single storey ground level additions and all alterations only. A second storey is a development application.

Does a tree affect whether I need approval in Fremantle?

Yes, and this catches people. An exemption does not apply where the work would result in tree-damaging activity to a regulated tree, unless separately exempt under LPP 2.26 Tree Retention. A design that complies with everything else can still need a development application because of a tree.

What is Special Control Area 5.7 in Fremantle?

It is an overlay that removes a number of the Heritage Area exemptions, including those for single storey additions, outbuildings, patios and shade structures. If your property sits inside it, exemptions you would otherwise rely on fall away. Confirm the position before designing.

Can I demolish my old shed in a Fremantle Heritage Area?

Only if it is not of masonry or limestone construction and has a floor area of less than 25m2. On an older Fremantle block a limestone outbuilding will fail both tests and needs a development application.