Most people planning a granny flat or small second dwelling in Victoria start with the same question: do I need an architect? The honest answer is usually no, but you do need everything an architect, a draftsperson, a structural engineer, an energy assessor and a building surveyor would normally give you separately, just coordinated under one roof instead of five.
Architect vs draftsperson vs building designer, in plain terms
An architect is a registered professional trained for complex, often larger or architecturally distinctive buildings, and is priced accordingly. A draftsperson or building designer prepares construction drawings and permit documentation for straightforward residential work, including most granny flats and backyard second dwellings, at a lower cost. Neither one, on their own, gets you a building permit. You still need a structural engineer, an energy report, a building surveyor, and sometimes a town planner and a landscape designer on top, each engaged and paid separately.
What this actually costs and takes in Victoria
Victoria is the slowest and most expensive of the large states for planning approval. HIA’s August 2025 survey found a new home build takes over 7 months and costs almost $20,000 just to reach a building permit, worse than the national average of 5.4 months and $14,100. For a smaller second dwelling the dollar figure is lower, but the pattern is identical: separate drawings, separate reports, separate invoices, and you are the one chasing each firm and checking their work lines up with the others.
Why coordination is the real cost, not the drawings
The drafting fee is rarely the problem. The problem is five different consultants on five different timelines, each needing information from the others before they can finish their piece, with no one accountable for the whole sequence except you. A soil test that arrives late holds up the structural engineer. A structural revision holds up the drafting. A missed note holds up the building surveyor. Most people underestimate this until they are living it.
The EcoPrestige difference: one roof, one sequence
EcoPrestige coordinates drafting, structural engineering, the energy report, and the building surveyor relationship under one team, with town planning and landscape design added only where the site actually needs them. Home design and building permit documentation in Victoria is contracted by our sister company DST Project Management and Construction Pty Ltd, registered domestic builder CDB-U 72187. That combination, all disciplines under one roof on one project, is genuinely rare in residential delivery. You are not hiring an architecture firm. You are replacing the coordination burden of five separate firms with one point of accountability.
What the deposit actually buys
A deposit gets your project mapped out: a concept layout and a clear picture of what your specific site will need, whether or not you already have a land title search done. That deposit is credited toward your final design and permit package, not an extra cost on top. Home design and building permit documentation in Victoria is contracted by our sister company DST Project Management and Construction Pty Ltd, registered domestic builder CDB-U 72187. Because every site is different, soil class, access, sewer versus on-site wastewater, overlays, we show you the full consultant breakdown for your project before you commit to anything further, instead of a headline number that does not hold up once your site is assessed.
Costing the build itself first? See how much a granny flat costs in Melbourne and the small second dwelling rules in Victoria. Paying for it: how to finance a granny flat in Victoria. Start here: Unlock Your Backyard — the full Melbourne guide.
What the full package actually costs
The domestic design and permit package is a flat $16,200, every project, regardless of size. It covers drafting, structural engineering, an energy report, a building surveyor, landscape design and a town planning application. If your project does not need landscape design or a town planning application, that allowance is not deducted and the price stays $16,200. Your deposit is credited only toward this $16,200 package. It is never credited against the cost of your build.
Get a feasibility and quote
A deposit, credited toward your final package, maps your project out and gets you a real consultant breakdown for your site, no hidden fees. Download the backyard and second dwelling guide: get the builder pack. Email your enquiry to info@ecoprestige.com.au with your site, your project size and roughly what you are after, and we reply with your exact consultant breakdown and which path applies, while we build out the dedicated enquiry form on the site.
Outside Victoria? See the same architect versus draftsperson breakdown for NSW, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT.