WA Approved-Site Purchases: Check the Approval Clock Before Paying for the Plans

CHECK THE APPROVAL CLOCK BEFORE BUYINGVictoria Park purchase and expiry checks

An approval date can change the purchase decision

An approved development site can look less risky than an untested concept. The sales folder may contain stamped drawings, an old decision and a cost estimate that assumes building can start immediately. Before attaching a premium to that package, establish which approval is being sold and whether it remains usable. The acquisition question is whether you can realistically implement the approved scheme within its operative requirements, not merely whether someone once obtained a favourable decision. An approval clock belongs beside yield and construction cost in the purchase screen.

Read the local guidance with its actual limits

The Town of Victoria Park says local development approvals are generally valid for two years and require substantial commencement within that period to remain valid. It explains lapse and an extension application route under clause 77 of the deemed provisions. That is a starting point for a site enquiry, not a universal WA expiry rule. Obtain the actual decision and ask the planner to identify its period, conditions, amendments and governing pathway before entering a date in the acquisition model.

Inventory every decision rather than one stamped plan

Request the original approval notice, all endorsed drawings, later amendments, extension decisions and relevant correspondence. Compare references and dates to the sales schedule. If a marketing plan differs from the endorsed version, mark it as unconfirmed until the planner reconciles it. Keep development approval, subdivision approval and building permit on separate lines. One document should not be assumed to extend or satisfy another. Ask which approvals are necessary for the specific construction and title sequence the proposed acquisition relies upon.

Treat commencement as an evidence question

A vendor may say work has begun and therefore the approval is safe. Ask for dated records describing exactly what was done, where and under which approval. Give those records to the planner and property lawyer to assess; do not decide from a cleared site, an invoice or a photograph that the legal commencement test has been met. Preserve any authority correspondence with the underlying evidence. If the conclusion is uncertain, show that uncertainty in the purchase decision instead of reporting a confident commencement date with no assessed basis.

An extension request is still a request

The Town’s guidance says its extension assessment considers changes in the planning framework, whether the proposal would likely obtain approval now and active pursuit of implementation. Do not describe an expected extension as routine or guaranteed. Ask the planner what material has changed since approval and what supporting evidence is required. Where the purchase depends on a future decision, have the property lawyer address the relevant conditions, timing and consequences in the contract. Keep the vendor’s application status separate from the authority’s actual determination.

Test the real programme against the remaining time

Create a programme starting at the expected settlement date, then add design completion, consultant work, conditions, finance, procurement and any further permits. Ask the planner to identify the legally relevant milestone and the engineer or builder to assess the practical work programme. Do not solve a short approval window by inserting an unrealistic construction start. Consider an alternative case in which an extension or fresh approval is necessary, with its own investigation cost and delay. These are feasibility scenarios, not claims that any activity preserves an approval.

TPC deal lens: pay for a verified usable position

You are not expected to judge substantial commencement yourself. Obtain the planner’s written position, legal advice on any remaining uncertainty and the actual authority records needed for the purchase. Put the approved scheme version and remaining approval assumptions in the decision file so a later design change triggers a fresh review. Key takeaway: stamped drawings have value only in the context of their current operative approval. Your turn: does the price you are considering assume an approval that your advisers have not yet checked for lapse, change or implementation timing?

Practical decision checklist

1. Retrieve every decision and endorsed plan revision.
2. Separate development, subdivision and building approval clocks.
3. Have the advisers assess any claimed commencement.
4. Treat a pending extension as an unresolved decision.
5. Test the settlement-to-implementation programme before agreeing the price.

Image credit: Kat Nesterenko / Unsplash. Illustrative photograph. Source · Licence Cropped for display; original retained.

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