Architectural Drafting in Melbourne — From Concept to Building Permit

Melbourne architectural drafting from concept to building permit — drawings, town planning submissions, and construction documentation for owner-builders, renovators and builders across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Fixed-fee quoting · 1,500+ projects delivered nationally · BPC registered

Why Melbourne clients choose Draftee

Architectural Drafting Melbourne - BPC Licensed Draftee

BPC Registered Building Practitioners

Every drawing set we produce is prepared by registered building practitioners under the Victorian Building & Plumbing Commission (formerly VBA). Your permit application is backed by practitioners who understand BPC compliance requirements. 

Melbourne Architectural Drafting - HIA Member Draftee

HIA Members

We’re members of the Housing Industry Association — Australia’s peak residential building industry body. Our membership reflects our commitment to industry standards and ongoing professional development.

Fixed-Fee Quoting

You’ll receive a detailed, fixed-fee quote before any work starts. No hourly rates, no scope creep. The price we quote is the price you pay — whether your project takes two weeks or six.

1,500+ Projects Delivered

Since 2016 we’ve delivered over 1,500 residential and commercial projects across Australia — more than 1,000 in Melbourne and regional Victoria, and over $1 billion in combined construction value drafted.

MELBOURNE & VICTORIAN PROJECT EXPERIENCE

Melbourne architectural drafting across metro and regional Victoria

We’ve delivered over 1,000 projects across greater Melbourne — from period home extensions in the inner suburbs through to new builds and subdivisions in Melbourne’s growth corridors. Our drafting team works with councils right across the metropolitan area.

COUNCILS WE SUBMIT TO
City of Melbourne Yarra Port Phillip Stonnington Boroondara Darebin Merri-bek Maribyrnong Banyule Manningham Whitehorse Knox Monash Glen Eira Bayside Kingston Casey Cardinia Wyndham Melton Hume Whittlesea

That breadth matters because every council interprets planning overlays and local policy differently. A townhouse development in Boroondara triggers different Design and Development Overlay requirements than the same project type in Wyndham. A renovation in a Heritage Overlay zone in Yarra needs a different documentation approach than a straightforward building permit application in Casey. We’ve submitted to all of them and understand what each council expects to see in a drawing set.

Victorian compliance built into every drawing set

Victoria has regulatory requirements that don’t apply in other states. Our Melbourne drawing sets are prepared with these built in from the start — not retrofitted after a council rejection. 

ResCode (Clause 54 & 55)

Documented in every residential project where it applies. We prepare the required setback calculations, overlooking diagrams, shadow analyses and open space assessments as part of the standard drawing set — not as expensive add-ons.

Report & Consent applications

Common on inner-Melbourne projects where siting doesn’t meet standard requirements under the Building Act. We prepare the documentation and coordinate with the relevant building surveyor.

BAL assessments

For bushfire-prone areas in the Yarra Ranges, Nillumbik, the Macedon Ranges and outer growth areas. We coordinate with BAL assessors and ensure construction detailing reflects the assigned BAL rating.

Section 173 agreements

And other planning permit conditions that affect how documentation needs to be prepared. We review these before starting any drawing work so the permit set reflects what council has actually approved.

Beyond Melbourne metro, we also serve regional Victorian clients in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and surrounding areas. The same Victorian compliance requirements apply, and our process works identically for regional projects — everything is delivered online. We also have teams covering other Australian cities including Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Canberra and Hobart.

SERVICES FOR MELBOURNE OWNER-BUILDERS, BUILDERS & RENOVATORS

Building plans and permit drawings for Melbourne residential projects

The full scope of drafting and documentation you need to get from initial concept through to building permit and construction. Every service is a fixed-fee engagement with a clear scope and timeline.

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Building permit drawings

The core of what we do. Complete building permit sets that meet your building surveyor and council requirements — site plans, floor plans, elevations, sections, site coverage and energy efficiency documentation.  Learn more about our full architectural drafting service across Australia.

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Town planning permit drawings

For projects in a Heritage Overlay, Design and Development Overlay, or requiring a planning permit under the zone, we prepare the drawing set and supporting documentation your town planner needs to lodge. We work alongside your planner or can recommend one.

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Construction documentation

Detailed construction sets builders can actually price and build from — construction details, window and door schedules, finishes schedules and specification notes. This is what gets your project from “permit approved” to “builder can start.”

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Owner-builder support

A significant portion of our Melbourne work is with owner-builders managing their own projects. We understand the documentation requirements owner-builders face in Victoria and support you through the permit process, including Class 1a to 1b conversions.

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Renovation & extension drafting

Extensions and major renovations are the most common project we draft in Melbourne — whether extending a weatherboard in the inner suburbs or adding a second storey in the middle ring. We handle documentation from concept through to permit-ready drawings.

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Granny flats & ancillary dwellings

Victoria’s planning provisions for ancillary dwellings have specific requirements around maximum floor area, setbacks and whether a planning permit is needed. We prepare the drawings and address the relevant requirements for your municipality. Wondering how long the build itself takes? See our guide on how long it takes to build a granny flat.

COMMON MELBOURNE PROJECT TYPES

The Melbourne projects we draft most often

Our project mix reflects what’s actually happening across the city — inner-suburb renovations, middle-ring subdivisions, and new construction in the growth corridors.

Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Modern rear extension on a Victorian weatherboard home in an inner suburb

Period home extensions — inner & middle suburbs

Weatherboard villas, Edwardian terraces and interwar homes where owners want to extend at the rear or add a second storey while retaining streetscape character. These almost always trigger Heritage or Neighbourhood Character Overlay considerations — we prepare documentation for both planning and building stages.

Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Townhouse developments & subdivisions

Townhouse developments & subdivisions

Multi-dwelling developments on existing residential lots — typically in middle-ring suburbs across Darebin, Banyule, Whitehorse, Monash and Glen Eira. These trigger Clause 55 (ResCode) requirements. We produce the full set including shadow diagrams, overlooking assessments and open space calculations.

Melbourne Architectural Drafting - New single-storey family home on a suburban block in a Melbourne outer growth area

New builds in growth areas

Melbourne’s outer growth corridors — Wyndham, Melton, Hume, Whittlesea, Casey, Cardinia — generate steady new residential construction. Typically more straightforward from a planning perspective, but still requiring compliant building permit documentation. We draft new homes across all these municipalities.

 
Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Small modern granny flat in the backyard of an existing Melbourne home

Granny flats, shed conversions & ancillary dwellings

Converting a shed or outbuilding into a habitable dwelling, or adding a new granny flat, is one of the fastest-growing project types we see. Victorian requirements are specific — floor area limits, setbacks, and whether a planning permit is needed all vary by zone and overlay.

Architectural Drafting - Modern open-plan commercial office

Commercial fitouts

Office, retail, hospitality and medical fitouts: partition layouts, reflected ceiling plans, joinery details, and mechanical/electrical coordination.

HOW WE WORK WITH MELBOURNE CLIENTS

How a Melbourne drafting project works with Draftee

Every project follows the same structured process — whether you’re a first-time owner-builder or a builder sending us your tenth job this year. The entire process is delivered online; you don’t need to visit an office.

1
Initial Brief

You tell us what you’re trying to build: project type, site address, rough scope, budget range, and any constraints (overlays, easements, existing plans, builder already engaged). We confirm scope and provide a fixed-fee quote within 1–2 business days. Once you’re on board, you upload your moodboard, inspiration images, surveys, title documents, soil reports or hand sketches straight into your project workspace — everything in one place, no email chains.

2
Concept and preliminary drawings

We produce concept floor plans and preliminary elevations for your review — room layouts, orientation, rough setbacks, key dimensions. You review drafts in the app, leave comments directly on the drawings, and we iterate until the concept is right. Typical turnaround: 1–2 weeks depending on complexity.

3

Town planning drawings (where required)

If your project triggers a planning permit, we quote and prepare the full submission set: site plans, floor plans, elevations, sections, shadow diagrams, site coverage and permeability calculations, and any reports the council requires. You lodge the application with council (or your appointed planner does); we provide everything needed for the submission and assist throughout.

4
Building permit and construction drawings

The detailed, dimensioned set a private surveyor or council certifier needs to issue a building permit — and the same set your builder uses to price and construct. Includes structural setouts, window and door schedules, joinery and wet-area details, and section drawings.

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Coordination with engineers, energy raters & surveyors

We coordinate with the consultants your project needs: structural engineers for footing and framing design, energy raters for six-star NatHERS reports, and land surveyors for feature and re-establishment surveys. We can recommend trusted partners if you don’t have one.

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Handover

You receive the final coordinated drawing set as high-resolution PDFs, ready for permit lodgement and construction. We remain available for revisions, council RFI responses, and construction-stage clarifications — all managed through the same project workspace.

FOR BUILDING COMPANIES & DESIGN FIRMS

Drafting support for Melbourne builders and design firms

If you’re a Melbourne building company, architecture practice or building design firm that needs additional drafting capacity, we provide subcontracted drafting on a project-by-project or ongoing basis.

We work as an extension of your team — producing drawing sets under your brand or ours. That covers overflow capacity during busy periods, dedicated resources for specific pipelines, and white-label documentation for firms without in-house draftspeople.

WE DELIVER IN Revit AutoCAD
Architectural Drafting - Draftee Australia

Recent Melbourne and Regional Victoria projects

Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Mt Elisa Residence
Mt Elisa Residence — Mornington Peninsula
Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Hampston Style Residence located in Brighton East
Hamptons Residence — Brighton East
Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Deck Renovation Tarneit
Deck Renovation — Tarneit
Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Rear Unit Newcomb Draftee
Rear Unit — Newcomb, Geelong
Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Modular Unit Violet Town Victoria
Modular Unit — Violet Town
Melbourne Architectural Drafting - Templestowe Custom Residence
Custom Residence — Templestowe

What Melbourne clients say about working with Draftee

Melbourne drafting — frequently asked questions

It depends on the project scope. A straightforward building permit set for a single-storey extension will cost less than a full planning and building permit package for a multi-dwelling development. We provide fixed-fee quotes for every project, so you’ll know the exact cost before any work starts. Submit your project details through our website and we’ll have a quote back to you within one to two business days.

For a typical Melbourne residential project, expect two to four weeks from brief to concept sign-off, then a further three to six weeks for the full building permit and construction documentation set. Timelines vary depending on project complexity, how quickly you provide feedback, and whether third-party inputs like structural engineering or energy ratings are needed.

We’ve submitted to councils across the entire Melbourne metropolitan area — including City of Melbourne, Yarra, Port Phillip, Stonnington, Boroondara, Darebin, Merri-bek, Banyule, Whitehorse, Knox, Monash, Glen Eira, Bayside, Wyndham, Melton, Hume, Whittlesea, Casey and Cardinia, among others. We also serve regional Victorian councils in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Shepparton.

Yes. Report and Consent applications under the Building Act are common on Melbourne projects where the proposed building doesn’t meet standard siting requirements. We prepare the necessary documentation and coordinate with your building surveyor to support the application.

Yes. Many Melbourne councils have DDO controls that dictate building heights, setbacks, site coverage and other design parameters. We review the relevant overlays at the start of every project and ensure the drawings comply with the applicable DDO requirements before submission.

A significant portion of our Melbourne workload is with owner-builders. We understand the documentation and permit requirements owner-builders face in Victoria and can guide you through the process, including Class 1a to 1b conversions.

Yes. For residential projects where Clause 54 or Clause 55 of the Victorian Planning Provisions applies, we prepare the required ResCode compliance documentation — including setback calculations, overlooking diagrams, shadow analysis and private open space assessments — as a standard part of the drawing set.

Yes. Beyond Melbourne metro, we work with clients in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and surrounding regional areas. Our process is entirely online, so regional projects are delivered the same way as metropolitan ones.

Yes. We routinely coordinate with energy raters, structural engineers and building surveyors to ensure the complete documentation package is consistent and ready for permit assessment. If you don’t have these consultants engaged yet, we can recommend practitioners we’ve worked with on previous Melbourne projects.

Building permit drawings are the technical documentation your building surveyor assesses to issue a building permit — they cover construction details, compliance with the National Construction Code and Victorian-specific requirements like ResCode. Planning permit drawings are submitted to your local council and address planning scheme requirements — things like neighbourhood character, heritage, setbacks and design overlays. Some Melbourne projects need both. We produce documentation for either or both stages. Unsure whether your project needs a permit at all? Use our permit checker tool to find out.

Areas we serve

Melbourne drafting services — areas we cover

We work with clients across the full Melbourne metropolitan area and regional Victoria. Our online delivery model means your location doesn’t limit the service — whether you’re in the inner city or two hours from the CBD, the process and quality are identical.

Inner Melbourne

Melbourne CBD, Southbank, South Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Docklands, Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond, Cremorne, Abbotsford, Prahran, South Yarra, Windsor, St Kilda

Inner North

Brunswick, Northcote, Thornbury, Preston, Reservoir, Coburg, Pascoe Vale, Essendon, Moonee Ponds

Inner East

Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell, Balwyn, Box Hill, Surrey Hills, Glen Iris, Malvern, Toorak, Armadale

South East

Bentleigh, Oakleigh, Clayton, Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Mulgrave, Dandenong, Narre Warren, Berwick, Cranbourne

Bayside

Brighton, Sandringham, Hampton, Mentone, Mordialloc, Frankston, Chelsea, Cheltenham

West

Footscray, Yarraville, Williamstown, Altona, Werribee, Point Cook, Tarneit, Truganina, Melton, Caroline Springs

North

Craigieburn, Mickleham, Donnybrook, Kalkallo, Epping, South Morang, Mernda, Mill Park, Bundoora, Greensborough, Eltham, Diamond Creek

Outer East

Ringwood, Croydon, Lilydale, Mooroolbark, Ferntree Gully, Belgrave, Rowville, Knoxfield

Regional Victoria

Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Warragul, Drouin, Bacchus Marsh, Gisborne, Kyneton, Torquay, Ocean Grove

Ready to start your Melbourne project?

Submit your project details through our online intake form and receive a fixed-fee quote within one to two business days. Or call us on 1300 372 383 to discuss your project directly.

Prefer to fill in a detailed brief? Use our extended project form

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