Retaining Wall Height and Approval in Launceston

The State's Determination sorts a retaining wall by the height of the ground it holds back. Up to 500 mm within 1500 mm of a boundary, a road or a right-of-way path, and otherwise up to 1.2 m, it is Category 1; up to 1.8 m, engineer designed, it is Category 2; with no height limit it is Category 3, Notifiable Work, which needs a Building Surveyor. These are the State's lines, not the City's.

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What retaining wall height and approval in Launceston actually involves

The Determination lists a retaining wall in Category 1, Low Risk Building Work, where the maximum height of the ground to be retained is 500 mm if the wall is within 1500 mm of a property boundary, a road or a path that is a right of way on another property, and otherwise 1.2 m. Category 2, Low Risk Building Work, lists a retaining wall with a maximum height of the ground to be retained of 1.8 m, engineer designed. Category 3, Notifiable Work, lists retaining walls as unlimited in height, and the Determination says that work can only be done where a Building Surveyor is engaged, carries out an assessment and notifies the relevant Permit Authority. A Category 1 wall must be not less than the height of the proposed wall from any building, whether on the allotment or an adjacent allotment. Both low-risk categories carry the Determination's Standard Limitations, which include the digging and filling limits and the hazard-area limit covered on the planning and hazard areas page.

Measuring the height

The Determination says the measurement of a height of a retaining wall includes the distance between the ground level in front of the wall and the level of the ground that is retained. Measure from the ground in front of the wall to the ground it holds back. On a sloping garden that can be taller than the wall's own face.

Digging and filling

Within 1.5 m from an allotment boundary, the Determination sets the maximum cut or fill at 500 mm. More than 1.5 m from a boundary it gives 1.2 m and 1.8 m in separate lines.

A spirit level held upright against the side of a low rendered block wall — retaining wall height and approval, Launceston. Illustrative example.

When a wall is bigger than a category allows

The Determination says types of Low Risk structures of sizes greater than a category permits are to be considered against the next relevant category, being Low Risk Work (Category 2), Notifiable Work (Category 3) or Permit Work (Category 4). It says Notifiable Work can only be done where a Building Surveyor is engaged, carries out an assessment and notifies the relevant Permit Authority. The City of Launceston's Building Permits page says all work outside Categories 1, 2 and 3 requires a Building Permit from the Council.

The City asks you to contact the Council Building Department before commencing any building or plumbing work. Its Fees and Charges 2026/27 schedule lists an item named "Accredited Practitioner - Retaining Wall (includes up to 2 inspections)". The item name is not defined in the schedule, and we do not know what it covers for a given wall: ask the City. The article on the fee line sets it out with its year.

A cut into a garden bank with exposed soil and a string line before any wall is built — retaining wall height and approval, Launceston. Illustrative example.

Retaining wall costs and rules check