It is the first question almost every retaining wall customer asks, and the internet gives frustratingly vague answers. Here is how it actually works in Geelong and across Victoria, based on the Victorian Building Regulations and the City of Greater Geelong’s published guidance.
The 1 metre rule
Under the Victorian Building Regulations 2018 (Schedule 3), a retaining wall less than 1 metre high generally does not require a building permit — provided it is not associated with other building work and does not support anything beyond the soil itself.
A building permit IS required when any of the following apply:
- The wall is 1 metre high or more
- The wall supports a structure, driveway or anything other than soil (any height)
- The wall is associated with other building work, such as a new home, extension or shed
- The wall protects or adjoins a neighbouring property or boundary
Building permit vs planning permit
These are two different approvals. The building permit covers the structure itself. A planning permit can be required separately when your property carries an overlay — heritage, environmental, design and development, or bushfire — which is common closer to the coast on the Surf Coast and parts of the Bellarine. Your council’s planning department (or your builder) can confirm which overlays apply to your address.
What this means in practice
- A 900mm garden terrace in Grovedale: generally no building permit.
- A 1.2m boundary retaining wall in Armstrong Creek: building permit required, and your neighbour is part of the conversation.
- An 800mm wall holding up a driveway in Highton: permit required — it supports more than soil.
- Two stepped 900mm walls instead of one 1.8m wall: often avoids the permit threshold, and usually costs less to engineer — but the steps must be genuinely independent walls, properly set apart.
Who sorts the permit out?
For walls that need one, the permit process runs through a private building surveyor with engineered drawings. We build to engineered specifications every day and can point you to the right people — and for walls under the threshold, we design footings and drainage to the same standard anyway, because the soil does not care whether a permit was required.
Check your own address
The City of Greater Geelong publishes its fences and retaining walls guidance on its website (search "retaining walls" at geelongcity.vic.gov.au), and Surf Coast Shire has equivalent guidance for Torquay, Anglesea and the coast. When in doubt, ask — a five-minute call to council beats rebuilding a wall.
Planning a wall and not sure where yours lands? Send us the address and a photo — we will tell you what applies as part of a free quote.
