Do I need a permit to change my shopfront in Victoria?

Before a new shopfront goes in, it's worth knowing which approvals it needs. Get it wrong and you can end up with a stop-work notice, a refused sign, or a shopfront that has to come out again. Here's how the rules work in Victoria, in plain English.

This is a general guide. The registered building surveyor and your council decide what your shopfront needs, not the glazier.

Two separate tests: building and planning

Victoria has two separate permit systems, and a shopfront can need one, both or neither:

• A building permit is about safety and construction: structure, exits, glass, access. It's issued by a registered building surveyor.
• A planning permit is about how the place looks and is used: heritage, signs, shutters. It's issued by your council.

Building permit: repair is usually exempt, change usually isn't

Building work on a shop needs a building permit unless it's exempt under Schedule 3 of the Building Regulations 2018. The exemption that matters here covers repair, renewal or maintenance with like materials that doesn't affect the structure or safety of the building (Building and Plumbing Commission, BP-01). Replacing a broken pane in the same frame is usually in that group.

Work that changes the structure, the exits and paths to them, or essential safety measures usually needs a permit (Hume City Council). Making an opening bigger or moving a door generally affects the structure (City of Monash). Even exempt work still has to meet the National Construction Code, including safety glass in and beside doors.

The energy rules changed in 2026

Victoria adopted NCC 2025 for new building work from 1 May 2026, with tighter energy-efficiency rules for commercial buildings (HIA). If your shopfront needs a building permit, the surveyor may require the new glazing to meet those rules, which can mean performance glass. Ask early, because it affects the glass and the price.

Accessible entrances

Where a building permit is needed, the Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards apply to the new work and to the "affected part": usually the main entrance and the path from it to the new work (Australian Human Rights Commission). A tenant doing work only inside their own leased area is generally excused from upgrading the affected part (VBA Practice Note AC-01). A new entry door can bring in requirements such as clear width and visual markings on the glass, so involve the building surveyor or an access consultant before the door is ordered.

Planning: heritage, signs and shutters

Heritage Overlay. In a Heritage Overlay (clause 43.01), almost any external change needs a planning permit (City of Melbourne). Councils' heritage guidelines usually favour keeping the traditional shopfront parts, such as the stallboard, the framing and the recessed entry, and changing only the glass. Port Phillip's guideline, for example, supports "sympathetic alteration to the glazed areas only (not to framing elements or doors)" (City of Port Phillip). Check your property on VicPlan to see if an overlay applies.

Signs. In the City of Melbourne, most signs fixed to a shopfront need a planning permit (City of Melbourne). Other councils have their own rules, so ask before you order signage or large logos on the glass.

Shutters. External roller shutters often need a permit, and the Melbourne Planning Scheme discourages solid ones on shopfronts. Our shopfront security guide compares shutters with internal grilles and laminated glass.

Your lease comes first

Many shop leases need the landlord's written consent before you change the shopfront, and shopping centres often have their own design rules. At the end of the lease you may have to return the shopfront to its original state. Read the alterations and make-good clauses before you start.

Before you order a new shopfront

1. Check the lease and get the landlord's consent.
2. Look up your property's planning controls (heritage, signs).
3. Ask a registered building surveyor whether the work needs a building permit.
4. Then get a measured, written quote that names the glass and doors.

Talk to us early

We replace shopfront glass, doors and frames across Melbourne and work to the approved plans, selecting glass for each opening, including under AS 1288. Tell us early if your shop is in a heritage area or the work needs a permit, and we'll quote to suit. See shopfronts and entry doors, the shopfront cost guide or ask for a shopfront quote.