Pre-start meeting
A pre-start meeting occurs prior to the approved construction works commencing and is usually held at the development site. These meetings provide Council and the applicant with an opportunity to meet and coordinate specific requirements of any approval.
Pre-start meetings may be a requirement of a development approval, and one development approval may contain several pre-start meeting conditions, normally categorised by the associated discipline and the nature of the works.
Discipline:
- engineering
- ecology
- erosion and sediment control
- landscape architecture
- Building and Construction Management Team
- architecture.
Works:
- roadworks
- stormwater drainage
- vegetation management
- rehabilitation
- streetscape
- park
- erosion and sediment control
- and more.
Each development approval condition will outline the timing for when the pre-start meeting is to occur, this may be prior to:
- any land disturbance
- construction occurring on site, and/or
- streetscape works commencing.
Failure to meet the condition(s) of approval and associated timing may be considered a breach of the development approval and will be investigated by Council Enforcement Officers.
Well-made request
Prior to requesting a pre-start meeting, the following must be completed:
- all necessary approvals are in place including operational works and/or Council compliance assessment approvals
- current permit approvals have been obtained
- the compliance and inspection fee has been paid (you can also request a fee quote for this fee via the below online form)
- the approved plans and conditions are available on-site
- for engineering only: review of the civil engineering works pre-start meetings guideline (Word - 292kb). For more information about other civil engineering works, refer to the guidelines asset design and construction requirements (Word - 297kb) and finalising the handover of assets to Council (Word - 294b).
- for erosion and sediment control only: erosion and sediment control plans and design certificate is obtained and is to be submitted as part of the request.
How to lodge
To request a pre-start meeting with Council, complete the request for an inspection online form. You will be prompted to confirm that the prior requirements and documentation have been actioned and provided.
You will be able to nominate two preferred meeting times, where Council will endeavour to prioritise one of those two options. A minimum of 10 business days from the submission of your lodgement form is required. The compliance and inspection fees must be paid prior to Council attending the pre-start meeting. Refer to fees and charges for more information.
Within the online form, select the relevant teams you wish to meet with as outlined below:
- Engineering Services
- Ecology Services
- Erosion and Sediment Control Team
- Landscape Architecture Team
- Building and Construction Management Team.
Council offers two types of pre-start meeting services:
Combined pre-start meeting
The meeting requester may choose to include a range of discipline specific Council representatives meeting regarding several approvals. For efficiency, each discipline may hold a specific timeslot at the meeting.
For example, the engineering team may meet to discuss roadworks and drainage and then immediately after, the landscape architecture team may meet to discuss streetscape works.
This prestart service offers efficiencies to both the customer and Council. Due to being able to get multiple Council officers out on-site, it may take up to 15 business days from the submission of your lodgement form for the meeting to occur.
Whilst Council will aim to provide a combined meeting when requested, there may be instances where this cannot be achieved, you will be contacted directly if this is the case.
Separate pre-start meetings
The meeting requester may choose to have one prestart meeting with one discipline to discuss one approval. For example, a meeting with the landscape architecture team to discuss the park approval.
This prestart service offers the opportunity to focus on specific elements of an approval. Council will attend a pre-start meeting within 10 business days of receiving the request.
Attendance at meeting
Council will only undertake a pre-start meeting in line with the timing of the condition, and once all relevant approvals are in place. Once the request is reviewed, and it is determined that the meeting can proceed, an officer will be in contact with you within 5 business days.
It is important that the right people are available on-site to ensure a productive meeting occurs. Each specialist team may require different external specialists such as a project Fauna Spotter, Arborist, Land Occupier to attend the meeting. If these external specialists are not in attendance another pre-start meeting may need to occur with additional fees. This will be outlined within the development approval conditions.
At the meeting, the Council officer will identify any potential issues and confirm what other inspections and approvals may be required before commencement of works and/or acceptance on-maintenance.
Following the meeting, Council will provide a written meeting record which will reflect the outcomes of the meeting. This record will also confirm condition compliance in relation to the pre-start meeting.