Important changes to the building permit application process commenced on 1 July 2019.
As BAMS evolves, we will continue to update these FAQs in response to industry use and feedback.
Reforms
In 2016, the Victorian Government commenced a three-year building industry reforms program. As part of this program, amendments to the Building Act 1993 commenced on 1 July 2019 through the Building Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Act 2017.
These amendments addressed:
difficulties in determining whether all building permit levy due has been remitted
concerns that some building surveyors are retaining the building permit levy for working capital, contributing to shortfalls in total levy received
delays in the provision of information required by the regulator due to the current monthly reporting system used by building surveyors.
On 1 July 2019, provisions requiring building surveyors to remit the building permit levy on a monthly basis were repealed, removing some of the regulatory burden from the industry. However, building surveyors still need to provide information relating to prescribed events every month.
If you use registered building surveyor software to manage your building permits, your software provider will also provide you with key information relating to the system you use and any relevant changes.
The Building Activity Management System went live on 1 July 2019.
BAMS is live, so any building permit number applications and associated payments will be processed. To avoid causing unwanted transactions, please do not test in BAMS.
If you would like to test a CSV file upload, please contact the BPN Support Team on 1300 241 104.
Illegal building work should be reported via VBA360.
Building permit applications
Building surveyors must apply for a BPN on BAMS by lodging an application.
There is no change to who may apply for a building permit.
An applicant for a building permit includes the owner or authorised agent; for example, a builder or architect, or the purchaser under a contract for the sale of a lot in a plan of subdivision who has paid the relevant deposit (section 17 of the Act).
The application for a building permit is deemed ‘accepted’ when it contains all information needed by the Relevant Building Surveyor (RBS) to:
apply for a building permit number (BPN); and
estimate the cost of work.
We consider that an RBS does not ‘accept’ an application for a building permit until all required information has been provided and the estimated cost of work is settled.
The required field ‘Date of appointment of building surveyor’ is the date described above and must be a date before the required field ‘Building Permit Application Date’, because the building surveyor must be appointed before they can apply for a BPN on behalf of the applicant.
An RBS may consider a building permit application from the time an application is received, including while the application for a BPN is under consideration.
A BPN is a ‘consent’ for the purposes of regulation 35(2). The 10- or 15-day period for deciding a building permit application set out in the Building Regulations 2018 (the Regulations) does not begin until a BPN application and all other reports and consents are received by or required to be supplied to the RBS.
An RBS may amend a building permit if:
it was issued with clerical errors or accidental omissions; or
minor design changes have occurred, such as relocating, adding or deleting doors or windows.
An upgrade to fittings or finishings will not usually require an amendment to a building permit.
Substantial design changes that fundamentally alter the nature of the work (for example, an additional storey extension) will require a new building permit. New permits required on or after 1 July 2019 should be the subject of an application for a new building permit and, in turn, a new BPN.
Section 80 requires an RBS to inform the relevant Council that the RBS has been appointed for a particular building work within seven days. This is a statutory obligation separate to a BPN application.
While BAMS collects the date an RBS was appointed, this information will not be reported until the RBS applies for a BPN.
The builder’s information forms part of the prescribed information that must be provided in a building permit application, as set out in Form 1 of the Regulations. You will be required to enter the builder’s details to apply for a BPN.
No. A building permit application will still be made using Form 1 (Application for a Building Permit) from Schedule 4 of the Regulations.
A transitional provision at clause 12 of Schedule 10 of the Act preserves the applicable law with respect to building permit applications received by an RBS before 1 July 2019.
This means that, where an RBS accepts an application before 1 July 2019, a building permit may be issued in accordance with the provisions of the Act that existed at the time the application for a building permit was accepted. As a result, there is no requirement for the RBS to apply for a BPN. They would also follow the existing process of reporting via a levy return.
BAMS will timeout after 12 hours. It will also time out if your computer goes to sleep or you lose your internet connection. If any of these scenarios occur, the best thing to do is refresh the page.
If you saved a portal application, you can find the draft in the ‘Manage Applications’ section.
BAMS has catered for both 2016 and new BCA codes. Building surveyors can use the most appropriate available to them. If the third-party software currently only allows the 2016 BCA codes, building surveyors can use the closest 2016 BCA code until the new codes are updated in the system.
Estimation of cost of work
RBS can refuse a building permit application if they reasonably believe the information provided is materially incorrect. This includes the following:
The contract price or agreed amount, or the builder’s estimate of the total amount payable for the work, is substantially lower than what is normally payable for that kind of building work.
The cost of any chattel listed in the application is substantially higher than the normal cost of that type of item.
The application contains materially false or misleading information.
The application does not include the required information, such as:
The contract price or agreed price
The builder’s estimate under a cost-plus contract or agreement
The cost of any chattel
Information required for a staged permit, including the total CoW relevant to a staged permit.
If the permit application is for an owner-builder, the RBS must refuse the application if they are satisfied that either:
The owner-builder's estimate of the building work is substantially lower than the normal cost of carrying out that kind of work.
The contractor agreed amount for any builder, trade or subcontractor engaged by the owner-builder is substantially lower than the amount normally payable for that kind of work.
Under a new section of the Act (205GA), an applicant for a building permit or a person acting on their behalf, must pay the amount of building permit levy calculated under section 205I before a building permit is issued.
A reimbursement of the building permit levy is allowable under circumstances where the levy was paid prior to the issue of a building permit and the application is withdrawn prior to the issue of the building permit. Once the building permit is issued, there is very limited capacity to reassess the levy for overestimated cost of work.
Note: we will not reimburse the building permit levy if:
The building work does not proceed
The building work is partially completed
A building permit lapses
A building permit is cancelled.
For building permits accepted by the RBS on or after 26 November 2025, the building permit applicant may request a reassessment of the cost of the building work if, in their view, the building permit levy should be decreased due to a variation to the building work.
Section 205L empowers us to reassess the building permit levy.
We may reassess a levy after a building permit is issued and within five years of completion of work where:
variation made to the building work which has resulted or will result in an increase in the cost of the building work
the RBS’ estimated/calculation of the cost of work was incorrect or
we consider information provided in a building permit application to be incorrect or misleading.
Re-assessment provisions in the Act only apply to building permits issued after 1 July 2019 (clause 14, Schedule 10).
Under section 205L of the Act, we must consider the following when reassessing a building permit levy:
information included in the building permit application under section 205H
any other information relating to the cost of building work provided by the building permit applicant or the RBS; and
any other information relating to the cost of building work that is considered relevant.
Under section 205LD, a person who is given a notice to pay additional levy under section 205LB(1)(a) must pay the additional amount of building permit levy (and any penalty levy that might apply) within 14 days of notice being given.
Changes to the cost of the building works
For non-staged building permit applications accepted by your relevant building surveyor (RBS) on or after 26 November 2025, the owner is also required to notify the BPC of a decrease in the cost of the building work, if the decrease is $15,625 or more. However, if the changes to the cost of the building work relates to an amendment of the building permit, only the relevant building surveyor is required to notify BPC of the revised cost of the building work.
Variations to building work during the life of a building permit are likely to result in the cost of work (COW) increasing or decreasing from the amount initially estimated/calculated, which may change the amount of levy payable.Therefore, once a building permit is issued, the owner/applicant should monitor the cost of work and maintain records of the cost of work. For building permit applications accepted by the RBS on or after 26 November 2025, the owner will also need to monitor the changes to the cost of chattels and prescribed excluded items.
For building permit applications accepted by the RBS before 26 November 2025, the owners or applicants can report a change in the cost of the building work by downloading the form:
For building permit applications accepted by the RBS on or after 26 November 2025, the owners or applicants can report a change in the cost of the building work by downloading the form:
These forms are editable PDFs. Please download the relevant form and complete it on your computer, not in your internet browser.
A reimbursement of the building permit levy is allowable under circumstances where the levy was paid prior to the issue of a building permit and the application is withdrawn prior to the issue of the building permit. Once the building permit is issued, there is very limited capacity to reassess the levy for overestimated cost of work.
Note: We will not reimburse the building permit levy if:
the building work does not proceed
the building work is partially completed
a building permit lapses or a building permit is cancelled.
For building permits accepted by the RBS on or after 26 November 2025, the building permit applicant may request a reassessment of the cost of the building work if, in their view, the building permit levy should be decreased due to a variation to the building work.
The applicant may make this request by downloading the form:
Only authorised registered building surveyors and their nominated administration staff have access to data in the BAMS portal.
Data housed in BAMS is stored in the cloud and complies with ISO/IEC 27001, 27017 and 27018, Australian standards and PCI standards.
BAMS will register every building surveyor’s company and the relevant building surveyors who work for that company. Each building surveyor (with their own registration number) will be linked to the company (with its own registration number or not). Each building permit issued will be recorded against the company and the relevant building surveyor.
When a building surveyor changes employers or leaves an organisation, we should be notified. Upon being notified, we will remove or change the building surveyor in BAMS.
Yes, building surveyors are required to have separate reporting accounts for different businesses.
Each building surveyor and administration individual will have their own log in, however when logged in, they will be presented with a dropdown box to select which reporting account/organisation they intend to report on.
Online and CSV building permit number applications
The best time to apply is when you have all the required information.
Users can only report certain details within a BPN application once per building permit application. These details are:
site address
builder’s details
owner’s details
BAL ratings
energy rating
building surveyor’s details
other practitioners’ details
building use; and
building materials (floor material, roof cladding material, external wall material and frame material).
As can be seen, the details of only one builder can be provided on a building permit, while only one energy rating can be reported for a specific permit application.
All CSV files must have well-formatted data, though there are no naming convention requirements for this file format. You can use CSV files to apply for one or more building permit numbers. Refer to the following resources for more information about valid CSV data structures:
If you are experiencing repeated errors when uploading a CSV file, please speak to your software provider.
When creating your CSV file, please note that only the CSV data structures outlined in the Technical Specifications Spreadsheet will validate correctly in BAMS. Information on required data fields is also available from the Technical Specifications Spreadsheet.
Please do not change the fields of the CSV file (including those in the CSV generator), as all data entered must validate against the BAMS data structure for uploads to be accepted and processed.
Please note: users must log in to BAMS to upload a CSV file.
Building surveyors using the bulk upload process will need to submit two reporting files.
A BPN Application/Amendment of Building Permit Form
This file includes:
All fields required for a building surveyor to apply for a BPN.
All fields required for a building surveyor to report an amendment to a building permit.
Prescribed Events and Other Data
This file includes all fields required for a building surveyor to submit prescribed events and other data on the seventh day of each month.
Yes, the system will enable the application to be updated after levy payment and amended once the building permit number has been issued by the registered building surveyor.
For single applications, users will receive real-time instructions helping them to correct validation errors as they move through the application.
For CSV file uploads, users will be notified of the location of validation errors within minutes of the data being submitted.
If an uploaded CSV file contains data validation errors, no records will progress through to payment. The CSV file must be corrected and re-uploaded – an approach developed following industry feedback.
You can withdraw an application before the building permit levy has been paid.
You can cancel a building permit after it has been paid, but before it has been issued, using BAMS. This will trigger a refund process for the levy paid.
If a building permit is cancelled after it is paid and issued, refunds will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
Building permits with a cost of works under $10,000 do not require a levy payment. BAMS will issue a building permit number once all required information is supplied and validated.
BAMS will allow multiple applications for the same property. However, these applications will not progress until the levy has been paid. Applications can be withdrawn or refused at any point before payment.
A BPN application requires users to indicate whether protection work is required for a building permit. Prescribed event code 22 – Protection Work requires the user to submit the inspection details of the protection work, including inspection status and the inspector’s registration number and name.
A BPN application requires users to indicate whether performance solutions are required for a building permit and to specify what those performance solutions are. The prescribed event codes 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 require users to report the Person’s Registration Number, and Registered Person.
Amending or updating information on a building permit
The building permit number record (generated after the building surveyor has issued the building permit) should be updated when there are new details that relate to the building permit number application, corrections to existing data are supplied, or when there have been amendments to the building permit’s details.
Building permits can be amended at any time through the online portal or via an uploaded CSV file after the building permit levy has been paid. Amendments may be required when there has been a change of builder or change of owner, for example.
If you submit updates via the bulk upload process, you will use the same CSV file template as the building permit number application. If you are using the online portal, you can amend a building permit record through the ‘Manage Permits’ section by selecting ‘view’ on the building permit record you would like to amend.
Yes. Owners or applicants are responsible for monitoring variations in the cost of works and advising of the final cost of works. Users can amend the cost of works for a building permit either online or through a CSV file upload.
No. You should use the amendment process to update the building permit record on BAMS.
The same payment process will apply. Either the owner or someone acting on behalf of the owner will need to pay the levy difference using a credit/debit card or BPAY.
Yes. BAMS will issue a BPN immediately after all required information is supplied and validated.
Yes. This requirement will not change.
The transfer of functions process covers this scenario and will be handled by our staff.
No. BAMS will only process one amendment to a BPN record in each CSV file upload. If the same building permit number appears on multiple lines in a CSV file upload, only one set of amendments will be recorded.
We have visibility of attempts to amend building permit records or report events via CSV file uploads. If these attempts are not successful before the due date, we will assist users to successfully upload their updates.
Regulation 47 – Reporting prescribed events
Relevant building surveyors are required to report up to 22 prescribed events, depending on the type of building work. Examples of prescribed events include issuance of a building permit, the date of final inspections, issuance of a certificate of final inspection, and mandatory notification stages, such as upon completion of the framework.
The first reportable prescribed event is the issuance of a building permit. At this stage, the RBS is required to complete two activities:
Report issuance of the building permit using the prescribed events process.
Update the BPN record using the update/amend process, providing any outstanding optional or conditional fields that were not provided in the initial BPN application.
If the builder named on a building permit changes or ceases to be the appointed builder for a project, the RBS must report these change events within five business days (regulation 47A and section 25AD of the Act).
These notifications must be made in BAMS via an amendment to the BPN record.
You must continue to notify us of these events via email using the form available.
No, regulation 47 requires reporting on events that occur after a building permit has been issued by an RBS.
Building surveyors must report prescribed events by the seventh day of the following month after the event occurred.
You can report prescribed events using a CSV upload process. This is done using a different CSV file template to building permit number applications/update files. You can also use the online portal to report prescribed events for specific building permit records.
Only the prescribed events under regulation 47 of the Building Regulations must be reported.
We will consider the reporting of inspection outcomes related to a mandatory notification stage as notification for that stage. This reporting is done in BAMS using the Prescribed Events reporting function – either using the single portal entry method or the bulk CSV file upload method.
Unauthorised building work
We are required to assess levy in circumstances where a person is convicted of an offence against the Building Act for carrying out work without a building permit (under ss16(1) or 16B(1)). This assessment is mandatory and may involve an amount of penalty levy and reasonable costs incurred by us for assessing the cost of work.
We may choose to assess a levy if we believe that a person has carried out building work without a permit (and contravened ss16(1) or 16B(1)). The assessment is at our discretion and may include an amount of penalty levy and reasonable costs incurred for assessing the cost of work
We may assess a levy for unauthorised building work even when the relevant building work was carried out before, on or after 1 July 2019. However, a levy assessment following a conviction under sections 16(1) or 16B(1) may only occur if the relevant person was found guilty on or after 1 July 2019 (clause 15, Schedule 10 of the Act).
We may appoint a suitably qualified registered building practitioner to undertake assessment of the cost of work under section 205LH of the Building Act.
If these have assessed a building permit levy under section 205LG of the Building Act, we may impose an amount of penalty levy up to two times the amount of levy assessed.
We must give the land owner a notice of levy assessment relating to works carried out without a building permit.
The person who was the land owner at the time the work was undertaken must make payment within 28 days (section 205LL of the Act).
A person may seek review of a decision to assess a levy and impose a penalty relating to work carried out without a building permit.
Decisions to assess levy and/or impose penalty levy are reviewable at VCAT, as are the amounts of assessed levy and penalty levy.
Yes. BAMS will automatically suspend a building permit record when a responsible builder’s registration lapses. The building permit record will be reinstated automatically when the builder’s registration number is pending or becomes current.
Relevant building surveyors will be notified via email should a relevant builder’s registration lapse. Building surveyors can view the suspended building permit records in the ‘Manage Permits’ – ‘Suspended Permits’ section of BAMS.
Receipt of building permit numbers
We may issue a BPN within minutes if it has all the required information and was paid via credit card.
Payments made by BPAY are subject to standard banking time frames. Payers who provide their receipt number within BAMS will be issued a BPN. In all other cases, we will only issue a BPN once payment has cleared.
A BPN will be issued by BAMS, without manual intervention, when all information has been provided and payment has been received. This should occur within five business days.
In the unlikely event of a system failure, we will have arrangements in place to ensure it is able to issue BPNs within the five-day timeframe.
BAMS will notify the relevant building surveyor via email that a BPN has been issued. The BPN and all relevant information will also be provided to the relevant municipal council.
Yes. Once an application has been successfully uploaded, each building permit record and its status can be viewed from the BAMS portal.
Notification of building permit numbers
Relevant building surveyors and owners will receive an email from BAMS if their BPN application is refused.
In certain circumstances, we may refuse to issue a BPN after receiving all required data and levy payment. For example, where a building practitioner’s registration has been suspended following submission of a BPN application by an RBS, a BPN may be refused on the grounds that there is a deficiency in information provided in the BPN application.
No, building permit numbers will not ‘expire’. However, once a BPN is issued to an RBS, the RBS will have a limited time to issue or refuse the building permit. The timeframe is 10 business days for a Class 1 or Class 10 building and 15 business days for any other type of building from the day on which all reports and consents from reporting authorities are received by the RBS, which relevantly includes the issue of a BPN (Regulation 35 of the Building Regulations).
Staged projects and costs of work
A building permit representing one stage of a building project can be identified by entering a stage number. This will be a separate field of information for a building permit, meaning the stage number will no longer be ‘embedded’ as part of the building permit number.
A new ‘Project Name/ID’ field will be used to provide a common project identifier to link all the stages in a project. Building surveyors can use this field to identify a project using a naming convention of their choosing.
A ‘Final Stage Indicator’ field will be used to identify that a particular stage is the final stage in the project.
The cost of works must be provided by the relevant building surveyor. BAMS will assist the RBS to calculate the levy payable based on the cost of works.
Relevant building surveyors will be able to view the following information in BAMS as part of the first release:
all building permit number applications
all pending payments for building permit number applications
all issued building permit numbers; and
all issued building permits
Additional reports and views may be developed for future releases of BAMS.
A building permit number (BPN) will be issued after all required information has been provided by the RBS and any levy payment has been made. The BPN will be a unique identifier of the associated building permit issued by the RBS. The BPN will remain valid if the building permit is active (i.e. not cancelled or closed).
BAMS enables reporting of prescribed events at each stage, and events should be reported on at each relevant stage. A notes field for further descriptions will be provided.
Levy calculation and payment
The levy will be calculated based on the cost of building work provided by Relevant Building Surveyor with their application for building permit number. The total project cost of building work will be taken into consideration for calculating Building Reform levy for a multistage project.
If the increased cost of work results in an amended building permit being issued, relevant building surveyors will need to report the increased cost as an amended building permit via a “BPN Application/Amendment of Building Permit”.
Based on the new information, the levy will be re-assessed and calculated based on any previous levy amounts that have been paid and whether the new works attract an additional levy.
If an owner/applicant is aware of the increased cost of work, and the increase is $15,625 or more, they must notify within 28 days of becoming aware of the increase. This requirement applies to increases in costs of work that do not result in an amended building permit being issued.
BAMS only accepts payments via BPAY and credit/debit card (Visa and MasterCard). BAMS does not accept American Express.
The nominated levy payer can be any of the following persons:
applicant
person paying on behalf of the applicant; or
relevant building surveyor.
The process to apply for and receive a building permit number will be the same, regardless of whether the cost of works is less than or greater than $10,000. However, no levy will be payable if the cost of works is $10,000 or less.
BAMS provides a tax receipt immediately following payment.
Once a payment has been made successfully using credit card or BPAY, the nominated payer or RBS will be shown a payment confirmation message and sent an email with the receipt in an attached PDF file.
The levy payment receipt meets the ATO’s definition of a tax receipt and may be considered a tax invoice for tax purposes.
Building surveyors can access payment receipts on BAMS at any time by navigating to the ‘Manage Permits’ screen. By selecting any specific building permit record, surveyors can view the payment receipt.
If the payment link sent to you by BAMS is not working, please try accessing the link using a different device.
You should also check whether your RBS has withdrawn your permit application.
If problems persist, please contact the BPN Support Team on 1300 241 104.
Applicants and homeowners
We will provide educational material on our website for owners and applicants. We will also require help from the industry to educate homeowners and applicants on the application process.
Historically, we have not issued receipts for levy payments. BAMS will automatically provide a payment receipt on the screen immediately after payment.
The levy payment receipt is not a tax invoice and does not include GST.
Building surveyors can access payment receipts on BAMS. Please contact your building surveyor if you did not download your receipt at the time of payment.
Owners of non-staged building permit are required to notify us within 28 days of becoming aware of a change to the cost of the building work. If the change relates to an amendment to the building permit, the applicant of the amendment to the building permit is required to notify.
If a non-staged building permit accepted by the relevant building surveyor (RBS) on or after 26 November 2025, and the change relates to an amendment of the building permit, the RBS is required to notify us of the revised cost of the building work within 28 days after the RBS re-calculates the cost of the building work.
We will provide information for homeowners on its website. However, building surveyors are advised to keep relevant homeowners informed of their duties to assist them in being compliant with the new legislation.
BAMS reporting accounts
There are 4 different reporting account types in BAMS, each used in different scenarios.
It is crucial that a Building Surveyor Individual and/or Company is set up using the correct type, to ensure building permit data is reported with current information, and in line with legislation.
