a) Cease occupation of the shed converted to a habitable building

1. The building order provided the following reasons:

Building work was carried out without a building permit being issued and in force under the Building Act 1993. The following building work has been carried out on the building/land without a building permit as required by the Building Act 1993:

1. The Applicant appealed to the Building Appeals Board (BAB) seeking an extended timeframe for the order.

1. The Applicant submits that she wants an extension of time to comply with the building order. The Applicant wants to be able to remain in the building until a new house is built on the Subject Land.
2. The Applicant submits it is unrealistic to require her and her family to cease occupation during a housing crisis.
3. The Applicant submits she has South Gippsland Water approval and is ready to proceed with a new septic system as soon as the planning permit for the new dwelling is issued. The system will service the new dwelling, but in the interim the existing building can be plumbed into the system.

1. The Respondent opposes the Applicant's continued occupation of the converted class 10a shed which poses risks to health and safety and has below standard amenity.
2. The Respondent submits that the timeframe requested by the Applicant is unreasonable because the timeframe for the completion of a new dwelling cannot be guaranteed.
3. The Respondent submits that the Applicant can live in a caravan which is already on the site while the new dwelling is being built.

1. In order to consider the consider the Applicant's appeal concerning the imposition of a condition in the building order made on 8 May 2025, we find it is appropriate to look at whether the building order was made in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
2. Section 111 of the Act sets out the general provisions in relation to the making of building orders. We note that under these provisions the Relevant Building Surveyor (RBS) may direct that the owner of land must carry out building work, protection work, or other work required by the Building Regulations 2018 (the Regulations). Pursuant to s 111(3)(a) of the Act the RBS may order an owner to evacuate a building within a specified time and pursuant to 111(4) of the Act may prohibit the occupation of a building.
3. Reg 181 of the Regulations sets out the information that the building order must include. Of relevance to this appeal, reg 181(b) requires the building order to include the reasons why the building order was made. We note that the building order dated 8 May 2025 provides limited reasons, that is that work was carried out without a building permit converting a shed to a habitable dwelling.
4. Reg 182 of the Regulations provides that a building order made under s 111 of the Act may be in the form of Form 12. The building order is not required to be in that form. However, we do find that the form provides helpful guidance as to the requirements of reg 81 of the Regulations. We note that the building order dated 8 May 2025 purports to be a form 12 but does not have all of the detail required by form 12.
5. We note that the building order dated 8 May 2025 requires the Applicant to cease occupation of a building and states that building work has been carried out without a building permit yet fails to state exactly what that building work is. The description "shed converted to a habitable building" is not detailed enough to meet the requirements of the Act.
6. Because of our finding above that the building order was not made in accordance with the requirements of the Act; it follows that any condition in the order cannot be enforced.

[1] Clause 17 of Schedule 3 to the Building Act 1993 provides: 'Unless the Building Appeals Board otherwise determines, a party to a proceeding before the Board must bear his, her or its own costs'.