The problem
Nobody can tell you the actual rule for your state.
You've got the block, or you've got your eye on one. The plan is simple: put a caravan on it, maybe a shed, build something small, live cheaply.
Then you start reading. One forum says 60 days. Another says six days in 28. Someone on Facebook says councils are illegal anyway. Someone in the comments got fined. Someone else has lived in a shed for nine years and "never had a problem".
"Australia is determined to make it impossible to live cheaply on your own land."
— the most-liked comment on our most-watched video
People don't usually lose because they don't have the money. They lose because they built the wrong thing, on the wrong block, in the wrong order, and a neighbour made one phone call.
But people are still doing it. Legally.
A house for about $60,000 on an $87,000 block. A young couple in Tasmania built a 54 m² home, designed and signed off properly before they moved in. Case file, p. 126
An earth-bag home, approved. A WA shire approved a home its owners planned to build for under $40,000. Case file, p. 127
One caravan, as the owner's temporary home, is a permitted use in most Northern Territory zones, with conditions. No planning permit. Chapter 5, p. 43
Up to two years in a caravan, then apply again. WA councils can now approve it on your own land. Chapter 5, p. 42
The difference between them and the people who got the letter was rarely money. They knew the rules before they started. This book gives you those rules.
