Who to contact

Almost everything goes to the office handling your application — the phone number shown on your portal · the email address shown on your portal · their published hours.

They handle your application. Contact them about anything to do with your project.

Contact the office about

• Fees — what an amount is for, how it was calculated, whether it's right. Fees are calculated differently by every organisation, so they're the only ones who can answer.
• Your application — status, timelines, what's outstanding, what happens next
• Corrections and review comments — what a comment means, whether your response covers it
• Inspections — scheduling, results, what a note means, re-inspections
• Which permit you need, and whether you need one at all
• Whether you need a licensed professional
• Account access — you've lost your registered email, or need to be added to a project
• Anything about the decision on your project

That's most things. If you're unsure, start here.

When it's a technical fault

A few problems are about the software rather than your permit — the page won't load, a file won't upload, a payment window won't open.

Still start with the office. They'll pass it on if it needs to go to the system provider, and they need to know anyway if it's affecting your application. Going direct means they can't help you and they don't know you're stuck.

Before you call, it's worth trying Clear your browser's saved data — it resolves a good share of these.

What to have ready

Whatever the question, these make the call much shorter:

• Your project or permit number — the single most useful thing
• The property address
• The email address on your account
• What you were doing when it went wrong
• The exact message, if you saw one
• Which browser and device you're using, for a technical problem

Say if you're on a deadline

If you're facing a deadline — a closing date, a scheduled pour, an expiring approval — say so at the start.

Departments can often help with a genuine constraint raised early. They can rarely do much about one raised after the date has passed.

If you disagree with a decision

If you think a correction, an inspection result, or a fee is wrong, raise it with the office first and ask them to explain the basis. Most disagreements resolve at that point.

If it doesn't, ask what the formal route is. There's usually an appeal or review process, and staff can tell you what it is and what the deadline for it might be.