Demolition Services
Partial and full demolition, strip-outs and site clearing.
We cover 2 regions and 106 suburbs across Victoria. Pick your area below. Each page covers the councils, site conditions and permit considerations specific to that part of the state.
What demolition services actually involves
Demolition is regulated work, and most of the regulation is about two things: what is in the building, and what is still connected to it. Asbestos was used extensively in Australian residential construction until the 1980s, and anything from that era should be assumed to contain it until tested.
Service disconnection is the other non-negotiable. Power, gas, water and sewer all have to be properly disconnected by the relevant authority before work starts, and that lead time is often what determines the start date rather than the demolition itself.
Technical requirements
- Demolition permits and report requirements
- Asbestos identification and licensed removal
- Service disconnection before works
- Waste separation and recycling
How the job runs
- Identify hazardous materials, including asbestos testing where the era suggests it
- Obtain the required permits and reports
- Arrange service disconnections with the relevant authorities
- Licensed removal of any hazardous material
- Demolition or strip-out with waste separated for recycling
- Site clearance and make safe
What goes wrong
The failures we get called out to fix are consistent. These are the ones worth asking any builder about before you engage them.
- Assuming no asbestos because the building looks renovated
- Starting before services are formally disconnected
- Not budgeting for waste disposal, which is a significant share of the cost
- Damaging a shared or adjoining structure without a dilapidation record beforehand
Tell us the address, we will tell you what applies
Tell us the address and what you are planning.
We reply the same business day.
Demolition Services by area
2 regions, 106 suburbs. Each page is specific to that area.
Common questions
These answers apply wherever the job is. Anything specific to your area is on the relevant area page above, and anything specific to your property is a conversation.
Do I need a permit to demolish?
For a full demolition, and for many partial ones, yes. Where the property carries a heritage overlay or falls under the relevant heritage provisions, council consent is a separate step that comes before the building permit, and that process takes time. Services have to be formally disconnected by each authority rather than simply cut, and proof of disconnection is normally required before work can start. Gas and electrical in particular are not something to resolve on the day.
How is asbestos handled?
The starting point is a survey before anything is touched, because assuming a building is clear is not an acceptable basis for demolition. Anything built or altered before the national ban may contain it, and it turns up in places people do not expect. Eaves, wet area sheeting, vinyl backing, fences. Removal is licensed work, with the class of licence depending on whether the material is friable, and friable material carries far stricter controls including air monitoring. Disposal goes to a facility licensed to receive it, and you should get the receipt.
What happens to the waste?
Sorted on site where it is practical, because mixed loads go to landfill and separated ones largely do not. Concrete and brick get crushed and reused, metals have genuine value and are recovered, and clean timber has outlets depending on its condition. What remains is the fraction that has to be disposed of properly. Ask for weighbridge dockets. They are the only real evidence of where material went, and on a job where the landfill levy is a meaningful part of the cost, that evidence is worth having.