Stratco approvals, sorted fast.

If the work’s already done and wasn’t approved, Councils can take compliance action, so it’s important to get approval sorted. This is commonly referred to as retrospective approval (or as-built).

We can help you with retrospective approvals. Just send us the details and any plans or photos you have, and our team will guide you through what needs to happen next.

If your plans don’t meet the standard setback or site cover rules (e.g. a carport built within a certain proximity of a side boundary), you’ll need Council approval to vary them — that’s called a Relaxation Variation.

It’s not a roadblock, just an extra step. We’ll let you know if your design needs one and take care of the application for you.

For most residential building work over $3,300, the builder must take out QBCC Home Warranty Insurance. This protects homeowners if the work is defective or incomplete. A copy of the insurance cover must be provided to us before we can release your building approval.

You can start building once your plans are approved by one of our certifiers. The earlier we review your plans, the sooner you can start on your Stratco build.

Yes. You can prepare your own plans, as long as they clearly show what we need to assess, including the structure location, setbacks and any existing buildings on the site. If you’re doing them yourself, tools like Site Plans Online can help. The key thing is making sure the plans are clear and accurate, as that helps us assess your application quickly and avoid back and forth later.

Some projects need both planning (council) and building approvals, and others can go straight through private certification. In most cases, you will likely only need a building approval issued by a private certifier. If council approval is required, we’ll guide you on that process and coordinate referrals as part of our role.

It’s sometimes possible, depending on your site and the relevant requirements. A quick site-specific review will tell us what’s achievable, and if there’s a way to make it work, we’ll help you find it.