Request for a Building/Plumbing Search

A building and plumbing search tells a buyer what building and plumbing applications council has on record for a property, with completion dates where known, covering houses, commercial buildings, additions, alterations and swimming pools. Fraser Coast offers a records-only search and a records search with a site inspection, in which a council building officer checks that the buildings and structures on the site have approval. Some of these records are public: a Queensland council must keep show cause and enforcement notices given under the Planning Act 2016 or the Building Act 1975 available for inspection and purchase (Planning Regulation 2017 sch 22 s 1(1)(zd)). Copies of the actual building file and plans are a separate request.

When you need it

• You are buying a house and want to know whether the dwelling, sheds, carports, extensions and pool were approved and finalised.
• You are buying a unit, shop, motel, caravan park or other multi-tenancy site and need records per tenancy.
• You want council to inspect the site and confirm that the structures there match approvals on file.

1. 1

   Applicant details

   Give your name, postal address, email, reference number and phone, and choose one response method: email or post.

2. 2

   Owner and site details

   Enter the owner's name, postal address and phone, then the site's street address, lot and plan and every tenancy number to be searched.

3. 3

   Contact for access

   For an inspection, name a person (not a company) and a phone number council can call to arrange access.

4. 4

   Declaration

   Sign and date the declaration that the owner has consented to the application. You also acknowledge that council may not hold plans for buildings built before 1996, and that an extra fee applies if more tenancies are found.

5. 5

   Choose the search

   Records only: dwelling, per commercial or residential tenancy, or a building complex charged at a base fee plus an hourly rate. With site inspection: domestic Class 1 and 10a standard or urgent, commercial per tenancy, or K'gari locations.

• Send the form to Fraser Coast Regional Council, PO Box 1943, Hervey Bay QLD 4655, or email enquiry@frasercoast.qld.gov.au. Phone 1300 79 49 29.
• Council only starts once it has a complete, legible application and full payment. Allow for postage delays if you choose post.
• Standard searches take 10 business days from receipt. An urgent domestic inspection search takes 5 business days, and the urgent component is refunded if council cannot meet that time.
• Fees are on the form and in council's current fees and charges schedule. Check them before lodging.

• Records may be thin for older homes: the form says records before 2006 may be limited, and some former council areas did not keep domestic files before 1980 or 1996.
• Mandatory inspections only began on 30 April 1998, so older approvals often have no final inspection certificate.
• A site inspection is not a pre-purchase or building quality inspection. It does not cover interiors, maintenance or plumbing and drainage. Use a licensed private consultant for those.
• Approvals for things like a reduced boundary setback (concurrence agency assessments) are not in this search; they appear in a town planning certificate.