Swan Draftsman

Swan Draftsman for City of Swan Plans and Council Approval

The City of Swan is the largest local government area in metropolitan Perth, and its planning rules reflect that. A shed in Ellenbrook and a shed in Gidgegannup are governed by completely different provisions, with different size caps, different height limits and different setback rules. In the rural zones a registered building envelope can matter more than the R-Codes.

This page sets out what the City of Swan exempts from development approval, how the rules change zone by zone, and the constraints that only apply here.

What a Swan draftsman or Swan drafter does for you

Swan work starts with three questions that do not arise in most councils: what zone is the lot, does it have a registered building envelope, and does any overlay apply.

For a City of Swan project that means:

Confirming the zone, because Local Planning Scheme No. 17 sets exemptions zone by zone
Checking for a registered building envelope, which is common on rural and special rural lots and governs where anything can be sited
Checking whether the lot falls in a Flood Prone Area, which removes several exemptions outright
Checking whether the lot is in or abuts the Development Control Area under the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006
Checking whether the lot sits in a drainage contribution area designated by the City, which affects new single houses
Checking the Heritage List and Heritage Areas, particularly through Guildford and Midland
Preparing plans and documentation to the City’s lodgement standard

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

What “Swan 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.

Swan council approval: when you need it and when you do not

Schedule 5 of Local Planning Scheme No. 17 sets out exempted development. For residential work the headline exemptions are these.

A single dwelling, or an addition to an existing single or grouped dwelling where it will be the only development on the lot, and a residential outbuilding, are exempt in the residential zones provided the lot is not in a Heritage Area and does not contain a place on the Heritage List. The exemption falls away where the development:

Requires approval under Part 6 of the Scheme, or
Is on a lot within or abutting the Development Control Area under the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006, or abuts or is likely to affect waters within that Area, or
Is a new single house within a drainage contribution area designated by the City

In the rural zones the same categories are exempt on a different basis. The development must sit within an approved building envelope, or where none exists, meet the standard setback for that zone. Where no setback is specified, the General Rural setbacks apply.

City of Swan building rules for rural sheds

This is where Swan differs most sharply from coastal councils. Rural sheds get their own exemption with genuinely large allowances.

Zone	Combined area of all sheds and outbuildings	Maximum height
General Rural and Swan Valley Rural	Not exceeding 300m2	5m
Special Rural, Rural Living, Rural Residential, Landscape and Resource	Not exceeding 200m2	5m

In both cases the conditions are the same:

External surfaces must be clad with non-reflective materials
The shed must sit within an approved building envelope, or meet the standard setback for the zone
The lot must not be in a Flood Prone Area
The lot must not be in a Heritage Area or contain a place on the Heritage List

A 300m2 combined shed allowance is far beyond anything available on a suburban lot, and it is one of the genuine advantages of building in the Swan Valley or the eastern rural areas. The non-reflective cladding condition is not decorative either. A standard reflective Zincalume finish will cost you the exemption.

In the residential zones there is no separate Swan shed table, so the R-Codes outbuilding provisions apply: 60m2 or 10 per cent of the site area whichever is lesser, a 2.4m wall height and a 4.2m ridge height for large and multiple outbuildings.

Building envelopes in the City of Swan

If your rural lot has a registered building envelope, it is the single most important document in the project. It defines the area within which buildings, effluent disposal and associated development may be located, and it usually exists because of vegetation retention, bushfire, drainage or landscape protection.

Practically, this means:

A shed sited inside the envelope may be exempt from development approval. The same shed one metre outside it is not
Moving or amending an envelope is a separate application with its own assessment
Water storage tanks in rural zones must sit inside the envelope, or no less than 15m from any lot boundary where none exists

Establishing the envelope position before design work starts saves redrawing. On a large rural lot the envelope, not the boundary, is what your setbacks run from.

City of Swan fence rules

Swan sets fence exemptions separately for urban and rural zones, and the rural rules are unusual.

In the residential and urban zones, a fence is exempt where it is not in a Heritage Area or on a Heritage List lot and meets any of:

It is a front fence meeting the R-Codes provisions, being visually permeable above 1.2m within the primary street setback, and truncated to no higher than 75m within 1.5m of a vehicle access point, driveway or street intersection
It is on a common boundary, more than 4.5m from the primary street boundary, and no greater than 4m in height
It is on a secondary street boundary and no greater than 8m in height

In the rural zones the fence must be constructed of post and wire or post and rail to be exempt, no higher than 1.8m generally, no higher than 1.2m within a 14m visual truncation on a corner lot, and no higher than 1.2m within a 3m visual truncation to a vehicular accessway. A Colorbond fence on a rural lot is not exempt.

Heritage Areas get their own rules, with fences generally limited to 2m on rear and side boundaries away from streets, and 1m where a side boundary fence comes closer than 4.5m to the front.

Other Swan exemptions worth knowing

Structure	Exemption criteria
Retaining wall	Maximum 1m above the adjoining lower level, not in a Flood Prone Area, not heritage, and on a boundary other than the primary street boundary. Urban zones only
Swimming pool or spa	Area no greater than 100m2, domestic use only, not heritage. In rural zones it must also sit within the building envelope or meet zone setbacks
Driveway	Excavation or filling no greater than 300mm vertically, no bridge over 5m, no wider than 6m, and in residential zones no more than one crossover onto an abutting dedicated road
Water storage tank	Rural zones, within the building envelope or set back no less than 15m from any lot boundary
Solar collectors	On the roof or other part of a building, projecting no more than 1.5m above the highest point, meeting the R-Codes deemed-to-comply provisions
Temporary building	Necessary for construction of a current approved development on the same site, and on the lot for no more than six months
Internal alterations	Where they do not increase the total floor area of the building
Outdoor lighting	Residential and rural zones: no more than 2.5m above ground level, fixed to a building, floodlighting directed only into the land

The single crossover limit is worth flagging. On a residential lot, a second crossover is not exempt, which affects designs that put a garage and a separate caravan or boat bay side by side.

Ancillary accommodation in the City of Swan

Schedule 5 exempts ancillary accommodation in the residential zones where the lot is not less than 450m2, open space requirements are met, one additional car space is provided, and the lot has no more than one dwelling of any description on it.

There is an important discrepancy to be aware of. Schedule 5 states a maximum plot ratio area of 60m2 and refers to the Acceptable Development Standards at clause 4.1.1 of the Residential Design Codes. That is superseded R-Codes terminology, and the current R-Codes set the ancillary dwelling cap at 70m2.

Where a scheme provision and the R-Codes diverge, the outcome is not something to guess at on a website. If you are designing an ancillary dwelling in the City of Swan, confirm directly with the City whether the exemption operates at 60m2 or 70m2 before finalising the plan. Designing to 70m2 on the assumption that the R-Codes govern, and then finding the exemption caps out at 60m2, means a development application you did not budget for.

Swan plans we prepare

Project type	What we prepare
New homes in the estates	Concept design through to submission documentation
Rural and Swan Valley sheds	Plans to the 300m2 or 200m2 combined allowance and building envelope
Second storey additions	Full working drawings, elevations, sections
Additions and extensions	Existing and proposed plans, demolition plan
Patios and alfrescos	Plans with the fire separation route identified
Ancillary accommodation	Plans and area calculations, with the 60m2 question resolved first
Carports and garages	Setback and crossover assessment
Retaining walls and fences	Plans including truncation and zone appropriate materials

Swan projects and what they teach you

Work across the City of Swan is a regular part of what we do, spanning development applications, working drawings and second storey additions, from the Ellenbrook and Brabham estates through to the semi rural blocks around Bullsbrook and the eastern hills.

The pattern in Swan is that the constraint is rarely the R-Codes. It is the overlay. A design that works perfectly on paper fails because the lot sits in a flood prone area, or the shed lands outside a registered building envelope, or the property abuts the river Development Control Area. None of that is visible from the street.

The practical lesson is to establish the constraints layer before design, not during assessment. On a Swan job the first hour spent confirming zone, envelope and overlays is worth more than any hour spent drawing.

What City of Swan 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.

On rural Swan lots, budget separately for a Bushfire Attack Level report where the property is in a designated bushfire prone area, and for a building envelope amendment if the design cannot fit the registered envelope.

Our drafting fee is quoted per project rather than by a rate card, because an estate block in Aveley and a bushfire prone rural lot in Gidgegannup are not the same job. As a rough guide only, a shed or patio submission sits at the lower end, an addition in the middle, and a new home on a constrained rural lot 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 Swan suburb

The City of Swan covers 42 suburbs, from the Midland strategic centre out to the Swan Valley, the eastern hills and the northern rural areas. The zone matters more here than in any other Perth council.

Suburb	What tends to drive the design
Ellenbrook, Aveley, Brabham, Dayton and Henley Brook draftsman	Estate lots with structure plans and design guidelines over the R-Codes
Midland, Midvale, Bellevue and Stratton draftsman	Established stock, heritage considerations through parts of Midland
Guildford, Woodbridge and South Guildford draftsman	Heritage Area and Heritage List assessment applies, most exemptions fall away
Swan Valley, Herne Hill, Millendon, Baskerville and West Swan draftsman	Swan Valley Rural zone, up to 300m2 combined shed allowance, non-reflective cladding required
Bullsbrook, Upper Swan and Belhus draftsman	Large rural lots, building envelopes and bushfire assessment drive the design
Gidgegannup, Red Hill and Brigadoon draftsman	Hills rural, bushfire prone throughout, envelopes and vegetation retention matter
Ballajura, Beechboro, Lockridge and Kiara draftsman	Established suburban blocks, additions and outbuilding work dominates
Caversham, Bennett Springs and Whiteman draftsman	Mixed newer residential and rural interface
The Vines, Jane Brook, Swan View, Koongamia and Middle Swan draftsman	Sloping sites, retaining and site works often govern
Malaga, Hazelmere and Bushmead draftsman	Industrial and mixed zoning, confirm the zone before anything else

Swan draftsman questions

How big a shed can I build in the City of Swan?

It depends entirely on your zone. In General Rural and Swan Valley Rural the combined area of all sheds and outbuildings can reach 300m2 at up to 5m high. In Special Rural, Rural Living, Rural Residential, Landscape and Resource zones the combined cap is 200m2 at up to 5m. In the residential zones the R-Codes apply instead, so 60m2 or 10 per cent of the site area whichever is lesser, with a 2.4m wall height. In every zone, being exempt from development approval does not remove the need for a building permit.

What is a building envelope and does mine have one?

A building envelope is a registered area on a rural or special rural lot within which buildings and associated development must sit. It usually exists to protect vegetation, manage bushfire risk or address drainage. If your lot has one, it governs where your shed or house can go regardless of where the boundaries are, and the exemption from development approval depends on staying inside it. The City can confirm whether your lot carries one.

Do I need approval for a fence in the City of Swan?

In the residential zones, a front fence meeting the R-Codes permeability and truncation provisions is exempt, a common boundary fence more than 4.5m back from the primary street can go to 2.4m, and a secondary street fence can go to 1.8m. In the rural zones the fence must be post and wire or post and rail to be exempt, so a Colorbond boundary fence on a rural lot will need approval.

Why does my Swan application need extra assessment?

The most common reasons are that the lot sits in a Flood Prone Area, is within or abutting the Development Control Area under the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act, sits in a drainage contribution area, or is in a Heritage Area. Any one of these removes exemptions that would otherwise apply, and none of them are apparent from looking at the block.

Is my granny flat capped at 60m2 or 70m2 in the City of Swan?

This one needs confirming with the City directly. Schedule 5 of Local Planning Scheme No. 17 states a maximum plot ratio area of 60m2 and cites superseded R-Codes terminology, while the current R-Codes set the ancillary dwelling cap at 70m2. The safe approach is to get the City’s position in writing before you design, rather than assuming the larger figure applies.