Waverley Council
Private building certifier in Bondi Junction
No other Waverley suburb sits inside a town centre catchment for the NSW mid-rise housing changes. CertifiBuild certifies terraces, semis, dual occupancies and Class 10 work here, and heritage mapping comes first.
NSW 2022
Class 1 homes and Class 10 structures
Local rules
Bondi Junction terraces, heritage and the town centre
Waverley's strategic centre
In 2021, about two in three occupied homes were flats (64.9%). Semis and terraces made up 23.7%, while just 5.2% were freestanding houses. The suburb holds the council's only commercial centre zone. The height map runs from 9.5 metres at the low end to 60 metres in the centre. Oxford Street began as a road built by soldiers in 1811, and the train line under it opened in 1979.
Conservation areas cover half the suburb
Conservation areas take in roughly 50% of its land. Mill Hill is the most familiar of the general areas, alongside Woodstock Street and Botany Street. Waverley Park is the largest landscape area. The station and its underground line are a heritage item of State significance.
Plans versus controls
In 2026 the council adopted a master plan that suggests buildings as tall as 100 metres around the Oxford Street Mall. It is a strategy only. Until a planning proposal changes the local plan, the 60 metre mapped maximum applies. Under the state housing changes, around two thirds of the suburb's area sits within 400 metres, as the crow flies, of the town centre shown on the map. The real test is walking distance, so check your route.
Typical work
Common projects and how they get approved
What owners build here
Away from the towers, much of the housing is terraces and semis. Class 1 and 10 jobs we see include:
- Upgrades and rear additions for conservation area terraces and semis.
- Dual occupancies under the state's Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy, as long as the land is not itself a heritage item.
- Pools, sheds and outbuildings, which stay complying on conservation land.
- Attic and roof space work on older cottages, assessed against heritage controls.
Apartments, offices and shops in the centre fall into other building classes. We flag on the first call that this work belongs with a differently registered certifier.
How approval usually works
Each pathway treats conservation land differently. The state's mid-rise housing policy leaves out heritage items, but not conservation areas. Under the pattern book route, both are ruled out. Conservation land sits outside the housing codes; only pools, detached outbuildings and similar freestanding structures are allowed. So extending a terrace there usually takes a DA, backed by a heritage impact statement, followed by a CC (construction certificate). Outside conservation land, a CDC, a fast-track approval under state rules, may suit. Do not design to the master plan heights, because they are not yet law. CertifiBuild lines up the heritage, catchment and zoning layers over your lot before you brief a designer, so the chosen pathway holds up.
Our services
From approval to sign-off.
One certifier for your whole Bondi Junction job, from the first plan check to the occupation certificate.
Local questions
Questions we hear about this suburb.
No two lots in Bondi Junction are the same. Give us your address and we will check every map that affects it.
See the council pageDoes the state mid-rise housing policy apply in Bondi Junction?
Possibly. No other Waverley suburb even has to ask. Waverley has a single mapped centre under the State’s low and mid-rise housing policy, centred on the Bondi Junction station and shops. Measured with a ruler, something like 66% of the suburb falls inside 400 metres of it, yet the policy counts the distance you actually walk, so fewer homes are really caught. Heritage items are excluded, while homes inside conservation areas remain eligible, unlike under the pattern book route. Confirm your walking distance and heritage status before sketching a dual occupancy.
Does the 100 metre master plan height apply yet?
No. In 2026 council adopted a master plan for the centre as a strategy, and it suggests buildings up to 100 metres around the Oxford Street Mall. Strategy is not law, though. Until a planning proposal changes the local plan, the mapped maximum of 60 metres in the centre still applies, and applications are judged against current controls. For house-scale work on terraces and semis away from the towers, the master plan makes little difference. Design to today’s maps and heritage rules, not to future heights that may change before they are adopted.
Can I extend my terrace under a CDC in a conservation area?
No, not for the extension itself. Conservation areas cover roughly half of Bondi Junction, including Mill Hill, Woodstock Street and Botany Street, and that land sits outside the housing codes apart from pools, detached outbuildings and similar freestanding structures. So a terrace extension there usually needs a development application (DA), supported by a heritage impact statement, followed by a construction certificate. Outside conservation land, a complying development certificate (CDC) may suit. Look your lot up on the heritage map first, then plan the design around it.
Building in this suburb?
Send us the address first.
We check the local maps for your lot, confirm the approval path and quote in writing.