Underpinning in Craigieburn
Hume City Council says restumping or underpinning needs a building permit; its alterations exemption leaves it out (archived copy, 16 January 2026) — Hume's rule sitewide. Particular to Craigieburn is the ground: the one report found covers a single precinct.
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Underpinning around Craigieburn
State mapping places all five sampled Craigieburn points on the Newer Volcanic Group — basalt flows with gravel, sand and clay: composition, not behaviour. Shannon and Kodikara (2017) say basaltic clays are "commonly found to the north and west of Melbourne" and their thickness "varies considerably within a site" — reason to want a soil report for your own block, not a finding about it.
The one VPA report on Craigieburn covers the Craigieburn West growth area: a 2020 reconnaissance rating soil reactivity there high risk: moderate to high at three boreholes, findings preliminary, and the precinct's south mapped mostly as Melbourne Formation, not basalt. Nothing found extends it to older estates.
Permits and Hume City Council rules
Hume's page on permits says restumping or underpinning needs one; its alterations exemption excludes "underpinning or replacement of footings", the same exclusion in Schedule 3 of the Building Regulations 2018. Its asset protection page requires a permit before work starts, exempting works under $10,000; the archived fee was $478.95, about 10 working days, no fast track, though it does not name underpinning. Hume's heritage schedule lists eight Craigieburn places, none a precinct. The surveyor confirms whether a permit is needed.
Source: Hume City Council, Do I need a building permit? (archived copy of 16 January 2026) and Hume City Council, Asset Protection and Permit Requirements (archived copy of 31 January 2026), both read 22 September 2026; Building Regulations 2018 Sch 3 (authorised version 031); Hume Planning Scheme Heritage Overlay schedule (C266hume, 11 April 2024); Geological Survey of Victoria Seamless Geology 1:250 000, DEECA, CC BY 4.0; Shannon and Kodikara, AGS Victoria symposium Reactive clays and light structures, 2017; Strata Geoscience and Environmental report 03160, 19 February 2020, within the Beveridge Williams Craigieburn West geotechnical report, published by the Victorian Planning Authority — confirm current requirements with Hume City Council.
Our Craigieburn service area
Craigieburn enquiries are referred to an independent provider, who arranges to inspect the house.
See all Underpinning in Melbourne. We also work in Point Cook, where the council charges no fee or bond.
Call (03) 9122 8610Last reviewed · Updated · First published