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Site plan · sheet 1 of 6

Landscaping in Melbourne, one layer of the plan at a time

Before a garden is dug, it is drawn. This guide reads a Melbourne backyard the way a landscape plan does, one layer at a time: who may build it, the retaining wall, the deck and the fence, the pool barrier, and the contract that holds the job together.

A guide published by Dotto from the official sources linked on each page: Victoria’s Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) for the state’s building rules, and the ACCC for the consumer law that applies across Australia.

General information, not legal or building advice. The BPC and your local council are the official places to check a Victorian job.

Drawing
Garden site plan
State
Victoria
Layers
Five, one per sheet
Date checked
9 October 2026

The plan

Here is an ordinary sloping Melbourne block, drawn from above: the boundary, the contours of the ground, the house, and the garden work around it. Each numbered layer has its own sheet in this guide.

A landscape site plan in five layers A plan view of a residential block. A dash-dot boundary line encloses the lot and contour lines run across it. The house sits near the top with a hatched deck and an open pergola below it. A thick line marks a retaining wall across the slope, a small shed sits in one corner, a fence with posts runs along the side and rear boundaries, and a pool sits inside a dashed barrier with a gate. A title block stands outside the lot. Numbered green circles mark layers one to five. 12345
Illustration, drawn for this guide and not to scale. The numbers match the sheets below.
  1. 1Who must be registered

    The two conditions that decide when Victoria requires a registered building practitioner.

  2. 2Retaining walls

    When a wall needs a building permit, and the registration classes that build them.

  3. 3Decks, pergolas, sheds and fences

    A schedule of garden structures and what the BPC says about each one’s permit.

  4. 4Pool barriers

    An owner’s duties, and how planting and paving can affect a barrier.

  5. 5Contracts and quotes

    Victoria’s contract and insurance thresholds, and your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

The registration rule

Victoria does not require every landscaper to be registered. The BPC says some landscaping work may only be done by a registered building practitioner, and for other landscaping work that is not a legal requirement. Two conditions decide it, and both must be met:

In the Building and Plumbing Commission’s words: “You must engage an appropriately registered building practitioner when:”

Contract price“the contract price of the works is over $10,000”
and
Kind of work“the work is domestic building work.”

So the price alone settles nothing. A contract limited to planting trees, shrubs and lawn is not generally domestic building work, and the BPC says a registered practitioner is then not legally required, whatever the contract price. A deck associated with your home, on the other hand, is generally domestic building work. Layer 01 sets out both lists in full.

Registration, building permits and planning permits

A landscaping job in Victoria can involve three separate things, and each comes from a different place.

Registration
Concerns the builder: who may do the work. Layer 01 explains when Victoria requires a registered building practitioner.
Building permit
A written approval from a private or municipal building surveyor. Victoria’s Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2018 require one for all building work unless the Regulations give an exemption.
Planning permit
Permission from your local council to develop or use land in a particular way. Where one is needed, the council must issue it before you can get a building permit.

The BPC’s suggestion is to ask your local council early whether your project needs a building permit, a planning permit, or both. Planting trees, shrubs and lawn needs no building permit at all.

Reading the sheets

Each sheet opens with the short answer, then the detail behind it, with the official source for every rule listed at its foot. Where a rule is the law, the sheet says so; where it is the BPC’s advice, or something to ask your council, it says that instead. Where the BPC’s own pages disagree, as they do on one insurance figure, the sheet shows both.

Start with the layer you are about to build. If a wall, a deck and a pool fence are all on your plan, the registration sheet is the one that ties them together.