Northam Draftsman for Shire of Northam Plans and Council Approval

The Shire of Northam has a rule that reverses the usual assumption about rural land. On lots zoned Rural, Rural Smallholdings or Rural Residential, development approval is required to build a shed, full stop. On Residential land you may not need it at all.

That is the opposite of what most people expect, and it is the single most useful thing to know before you start designing here.

What a Northam draftsman or Northam drafter does for you

Northam is the largest Avon Valley centre, running from the townsite out across substantial rural and rural residential land.

For a Shire of Northam project that means:

• Confirming the zone first, because it decides whether development approval is required at all
• Testing the design against Local Planning Policy 1 Outbuildings and Local Planning Scheme No. 6
• Confirming there is an existing house or one under construction, because sheds are not permitted on vacant land
• Checking the proposed style, because barn style outbuildings are not permitted in the Residential zone
• Checking the siting, because outbuildings forward of the house are generally not supported
• Preparing documentation to the Shire’s lodgement standard

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

What “Northam 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, or the equivalent standards in a local planning policy. Draw a shed, patio 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. Clause 61A of the deemed provisions lets you ask the council to confirm it in writing. Fees vary widely: the Town of Victoria Park charges $73, the Town of Cambridge charges $295 for a new single house and $100 for additions with a 14 day response, and some councils do not offer it at all. Ask the Shire of Northam directly whether they run one and whether your building surveyor will want it before lodging.

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

Shire of Northam building rules for sheds and outbuildings

The zoning rule

Development approval is required to build a shed on land zoned Rural, Rural Smallholdings or Rural Residential.

On land zoned Residential, development approval may be required only where the proposal seeks variations to the Scheme, to Local Planning Policy 1, or to the R-Codes. Design inside those and you go straight to a building permit.

That is worth restating because it inverts the usual pattern. In most councils rural land carries the more generous exemptions. In Northam the rural zones carry a blanket approval requirement.

The garden shed exemption

No planning approval is required for up to two prefabricated garden sheds of 12.25m2 or less in floor area with a wall height of 1.8m or less, and a ridge height within the specified limit.

Two things stand out. It permits two sheds rather than one, which is unusual. And 12.25m2 is a specific figure that corresponds to a standard 3.5m by 3.5m prefabricated kit, so the exemption is written around what people actually buy.

The restrictions people miss

• Barn style outbuildings are not permitted in the Residential zone. If you had a barn style shed in mind for a townsite block, it will not be supported
• Within the Residential, Rural Residential, Rural Smallholdings and Rural zones on lots under 40 hectares, outbuildings other than a carport will generally not be supported in the area between the house and the front boundary
• Unless there is an existing house or a house under construction, sheds are not permitted on vacant land

That last rule is the same trap that appears in several other WA shires. A shed on a bare block is treated as a storage or warehouse use rather than something incidental to a dwelling, and it will not be approved.

The Shire also maintains a separate policy dealing with outbuildings in the Rural Residential, Rural Small Holding and Rural zones, and rural residential design guidelines, both of which are worth checking on a rural project.

Patios and fire separation in Northam

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.

An enclosed shed is assessed under Part 9.2 instead, which is a different rule set.

Parts of the Shire are bushfire prone. Where a Bushfire Attack Level assessment is triggered, the AS 3959 construction requirements sit over the top of the fire separation provisions and may be the binding constraint on materials.

Northam plans we prepare

Project type	What we prepare
Sheds and workshops	Plans to LPP 1 with the zone requirement confirmed first
Rural and rural residential outbuildings	Plans and documentation for the required development application
New homes	Concept design through to submission documentation
Additions and extensions	Existing and proposed plans, demolition plan
Patios and alfrescos	Plans with the fire separation route identified
Ancillary dwellings	Plans and area calculations to the 70m2 limit
Carports and garages	Setback and siting assessment
Development applications	Documentation with supporting justification

 

Northam projects and what they teach you

Work across the Shire of Northam is part of our Avon Valley and wheatbelt workload.

The lesson Northam teaches is to confirm the zone before anything else, because it flips the usual logic. A client on a rural residential block who assumes rural land means fewer rules is going to be surprised by a mandatory development application. A client on a townsite lot who assumes the opposite may find they need nothing at all.

The second lesson is siting. Outbuildings forward of the house are generally not supported across the residential and rural zones on lots under 40 hectares, and barn style is out entirely in the Residential zone. Both are design decisions best made at the start.

What Shire of Northam 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 bushfire prone land, budget separately for a Bushfire Attack Level assessment from an accredited practitioner.

Our drafting fee is quoted per project rather than by a rate card, because a Northam townsite lot and a rural holding are not the same job. As a rough guide only, a patio or small outbuilding sits at the lower end, a large rural shed in the middle, and a new home 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 Northam locality

The Shire of Northam covers the Avon Valley centre and substantial surrounding rural land.

Locality	What tends to drive the design
Northam draftsman	Townsite lots, heritage stock in parts, the Residential zone rules apply
Wundowie draftsman	Townsite and surrounding rural, bushfire assessment commonly triggered
Bakers Hill draftsman	Rural residential, development approval required for sheds
Clackline draftsman	Rural and rural residential, larger lots
Grass Valley, Southern Brook and Spencers Brook draftsman	Rural land, development approval required for outbuildings
Irishtown draftsman	Rural residential, siting and screening matter

 

Northam draftsman questions

Do I need development approval for a shed in Northam?

On land zoned Rural, Rural Smallholdings or Rural Residential, yes. Development approval is required. On Residential zoned land it may only be required where the proposal seeks variations to the Scheme, Local Planning Policy 1 or the R-Codes.

Can I put up a garden shed in Northam without approval?

Yes, up to two prefabricated garden sheds of 12.25m2 or less in floor area with a wall height of 1.8m or less. That figure corresponds to a standard 3.5 by 3.5 metre kit, and permitting two rather than one is more generous than most councils.

Can I build a barn style shed in Northam?

Not in the Residential zone, where barn style outbuildings are not permitted. On rural zoned land they are assessed through the development application process along with everything else.

Can I build a shed on vacant land in Northam?

No. Unless there is an existing house on the lot or a house under construction, sheds are not permitted.

Can my shed go in front of the house in Northam?

Generally not. Within the Residential, Rural Residential, Rural Smallholdings and Rural zones on lots under 40 hectares, outbuildings other than a carport will generally not be supported in the area between the house and the front boundary.