Naval Base Shacks

Once the process is completed the below method will be used for transferring a shack.

Minor works may be defined as works that do not fall within the definition of building/development work. Such work generally will not require development approval or a building permit. However, the City’s consent is required for minor works, and a Form NBHA 1 must be submitted to the Property & Lands Officer. The detailed scope of work/specification for the proposed other works. Subject to the level of works the City’s Property & Lands Officer will advise you if you will be required to submit any further applications. Some examples of other works are:

• Recladding of existing walls.

• Recladding of an existing roof.

• Replacing/repairing gutters/downpipes.

• Antenna (less than 1.8m above roofline if fixed to a roof)

• Repainting
  
  Request to Carry out works

If you are proposing to build a structure or carry out works you will generally be required to obtain a Building Permit from the City’s Building Services Division prior to carrying out the building works onsite. Please follow the process below when applying for a Building Permit:

1. The completed Certified Building Permit Application Form is required to be executed by the Minister for Planning, Lands & Heritage as the owner of the land. The City's Property and Lands Officer will arrange for this when the application is submitted to the City.

2. You MUST obtain a Certificate of Design Compliance from a registered independent building surveyor. The Certificate of Design Compliance confirms that if the building or works are carried out in accordance with the certified plans, the building works will be compliant with each building standard that applies to the building.

Application to carry out works

You will need to have a registered consultant building surveyor of your choice carry out this process for you. Please note that this service is at commercial rates as negotiated by you with the independent building surveyor. The City of Cockburn cannot offer this service. A list of registered consultant building surveyors is available from the Building Commission website.

Request to Carry out works

• The City of Cockburn is of the opinion the shacks are best compared to a Class 3 building for the purposes of the Building Code of Australia Volume 1 (BCA - Part A3)

• The applicable building standards are as defined in Specification A1.3 of BCA Volume 1

• It is to be noted that the City’s Health and Engineering requirements must all be met prior to the issuance of a Building Permit.

The Demolition Permit Application Form (BA5) is required to be executed by the Minister for Planning, Lands & Heritage as the owner of the land. The City's Property and Lands Officer will arrange for this when the application is submitted to the City. You MUST have a valid Planning/Development Approval for the proposed demolition works. 

To apply for a demolition permit, you need to submit the following:

• A completed Demolition Permit application form (BA5) and prescribed application fee (refer to Building Application Fee Schedule).
• The Demolition permit application form (BA5) is available on the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety website.
• A scaled (min 1:200) site plan clearly indicating the building/s or section/s of the building/s to be demolished and the structures to be retained
• Demolition Contractor Worksafe Registration or proof of a valid legislative exemption
• A rat baiting certificate from a licensed pest control company.

You may need to submit a Notice and Request for Consent of Work Affecting Other Land (Form BA20) if the proposed demolition work is likely to adversely affect adjoining land or buildings. In the event that you are unable to gain consent from the affected adjoining land owners, a Court Order to carry out the proposed demolition work must be obtained instead and lodged with your demolition permit application.

For further information, Visit the City's Demolition Permit webpage.

The 2024 Naval Base Shacks Management Plan was developed in conjunction with shack lessees, City of Cockburn staff and Elected Members. The management plan sets out the administration of future improvements to the site.

Some infrastructure works have commenced under the management plan, including:

• Improved street lighting
• Bench seats installed
• Line markings.  
• Ablution upgrades

Local Planning Policy 5.1 – Public Open Space and Local Planning Policy 4.5 Naval Base Holiday Park – Heritage Area guide development at the site. They can be viewed on the Local Planning Policies page.

Local Planning Policy 5.1 provides a strategic overview of how public open space should be managed in relation to structure plan and subdivision application assessments.

Local Planning Policy 4.5 is a statutory policy that will guide development at the Naval Base Holiday Park including future additions or changes to existing structures, and how new structures should be built.

Boats, Caravans, or Trucks
(i) The Lessee must not and must not suffer or permit a person to park a boat, caravan or motor vehicle exceeding 3.5 tonnes in gross weight or 1.9 metres in height on the Land unless prior permission has been provided by the Lessor.

(ii) The Lessee must not and must not suffer or permit a boat to be parked on any other site within the Reserve, any boat parked must be parked within the lease area of the owner or users site.

(iii) The Lessee must not and must not suffer or permit a boat to be parked on any other site within the Reserve, any boat parked must be parked within the lease area of the lessee or users site.

(iv) The Lessee must not and must not suffer or permit a person to store a boat, caravan or motor vehicle on the Land

Dogs
(i) The Lessee acknowledges and agrees that it must at all times comply with the Dog Act 1976, including without limitation the requirement for all dogs to be on a leash at all times.

ii) City of Cockburn Rangers are to be contacted on 08 9411 3444 or in an emergency after hours 1300 658 877.

Anti-social or Noisy Behavior​
(i) The City’s CoSafe service regularly patrols the area for noisy or antisocial behaviour. 

(ii) Concerns regarding the Naval Base Shacks can be reported to CoSafe on 1300 267 233 (24 hours), the Police on 131 444 or 000 in the event of an emergency.  

Grassed Areas
(i) It is the Lessees responsibility to maintain the areas surrounding each shack.

(ii) All grassed areas must be kept clear to enable people to walk through with ease.

(iii) Vehicles, boats etc may only be parked on one side of each shack unless agreed to by the neighboring property.

(iv) Every site must be surrounded by grass unless prior written approval has been provided by the neighboring Lessees and formal approval provided by the City to replace the grass.

Water
(i) The Lessee must not and must not suffer or permit any person to extend the City’s reticulated water system. Any illegal plumbing will be removed by the City at the cost of the Lessee.

Fire Restrictions
(i) No open fires are permitted on the Reserve at any time.

(ii) Wood Fired BBQ's are permitted during low fire risk times however any fire warnings must be strictly adhered too.

(iii) No rubbish is to be burnt off at anytime.

Roads
(i) The internal roads are to be used for the movement of licensed vehicles only. Any boat, caravan or motor vehicle exceeding 3.5 tonnes in gross weight or 1.9 metres in height will NOT be permitted on the roads unless prior permission has been provided by the Lessor.

Emergency Procedure
(i) These will be displayed on the Notice Boards installed at both the northern & southern ablution blocks.

No. Shack Owners who have not maintained a compliant profile (such as failing to pay their lease fees or provide their annual insurance documents) will not be offered new leases.

The moratorium was put in place to allow the City to facilitate the smooth transition from the existing lease to a new lease. If a Shack Owner is able to demonstrate a legitimate or urgent need to undertake a transfer prior to the new lease being finalised, it will be considered by the City on a case-by-case basis. 

While a new lease has not been finalised, the City is allowing exemptions to the moratorium on shack transfers where justified.

If you have supplied your email address to the City then you will receive a digital version of your lease to sign. Once you sign the document City Officers will be able to finalise the agreement and you will then receive a fully signed copy.

The City is using this method of signing leases to make sure you get your lease as quickly as possible once fully signed and to minimise the use of paper.

The City will be offering hard copy paper leases to those who prefer to sign the document in this way.

The City will update the timeline on the website when it is available.  

Until a proposed new lease fee is finalised, the lease is holding over on the same terms as are currently agreed ($2500 annually). Please ensure that you are up to date with your payments and do not fall into arrears, as this may impact your eligibility to be offered a new lease.

The lease is holding over on the same terms as are currently agreed. You must continue to provide your public liability insurance documents annually (within 14 days of expiry); remain up to date with your lease fee payments; occupy the Shacks for less than 120 days per calendar year and otherwise comply with the terms in the lease. 

An independent licensed property valuer provided the City with a market valuation. Licensed valuers are bound under the Land Valuers Licensing Act 1978 and they operate under a stringent framework. A land valuer determines market value of land which is based on current market evidence. This opinion is recognised as an expert opinion by financial institutions, state and local government departments.

If you do not agree with the new lease conditions the City encourages you to email shacks@cockburn.gov.au with your concerns so we can discuss them with you.

Given the number of stakeholders on the site, it is not possible for everyone to agree on every outcome. Individual Naval Base Shack Lessees are welcome to submit their feedback regarding capital expenditure projects when invited to do so by the City’s Officers. Each suggested project will be discussed as a separate item at which point you can voice your support or aversion to a particular project. 

Council endorsed the following alternative recommendation: 
That Council:  

1. DEFERS endorsing the lease agreement for the Naval Base Shacks to a future Ordinary Council Meeting, once the following has been completed:  
2. Development of indicative costings for capital upgrades at the site and the impact each project would have on the required rental fee. 
3. Feedback from shack owners on which capital upgrades, and the subsequent impact on required rental values, are supported by shack owners. 
4. Investigates splitting lease fees into operational expenditure and capital expenditure 
5. Schedules a meeting with interested shack owners, City officers and Elected Members.  

The alternative recommendation means that a lease agreement between the Shack Lessees and the City will not be finalised until the City has undertaken the outlined in the alternative recommendation. 

This (non-mandatory) meeting was held on the 10^th of April 2024. For a copy of this presentation, please email Shacks@cockburn.wa.gov.au         

The formula which the City proposed to use to determine the lease fee ($3250) was a Market Valuation. This formulation was not supported in the submissions received from the Naval Base Shack Owners.  
The actions outlined in Council’s alternative recommendation will allow a lease fee to be proposed which will be based on  

1. the operational costs of running the site; and 
2. the costs for delivering Capital Works projects that the Naval Base Shack Lessees wish to be delivered at the site.  

Capital expenditure means the cost involved in upgrading the site and/or delivering projects. This cost would include but is not limited to developing a scope of works; planning; seeking relevant approvals; any required consultation; labour; materials; site works and formulating future asset management/maintenance. 

Operational expenditure means the cost involved in managing and maintaining the Naval Base Shack site. This includes but is not limited to the cost of reactive maintenance to assets; preventative/scheduled maintenance to assets; utility consumption; site and contractor management; Emergency Services Levy; waste services; daily cleaning of facilities and administration of the site.

Operational expenditure is the ‘day to day’ costs to keep the site; while ‘capital expenditure’ is the cost to improve or add to the site. 

The City has prioritized the completion of the new lease for 2024 to prevent any further delay and to ensure that Shack Owners feel secure in their tenure. Due to resourcing, a comprehensive analysis of each shack and their additions was not possible but will be undertaken in the future. The City encourages all Shack Owners who have undertaken unapproved works at the site to seek retrospective Planning and Building Approval to ensure that their lease is not jeopardized when such works are uncovered in due course.

Retrospective approval is when you submit an application for approval of your works after they have been completed. This means you will need to submit an development application and/or building permit application for approval of the works you have completed.
The outcome of retrospective approvals could require additional works requested for approval to be granted. It is also possible that approval is not granted and you will be required to remove any additions that have been made without approval.

Redevelopment of the northern and southern ablution blocks was identified as a potential project. More consultation will be undertaken with Lessees in due course.

Yes. This will be submitted to Council for approval.
The proposed changes in the Management Plan include administrative changes and inclusions to the sites history as well as the new lease details.
The Plan also details potential items for upgrades or development including:

• Roads
• Drainage
• Street lighting
• Beach Access
• Pontoon
• Laundry building demolition; and
• Redeveloped ablution buildings

A draft of the updated Management Plan will be included in the item to Council in June 2024. The Council agenda and attachments are available on the City's website.
 

Now that the items in the alternative recommendation have been completed, the City will seek to take the proposed new lease to Council to seek endorsement.  

Once the lease is endorsed, the City will consult the Minister for Lands to seek consent from the State; advertise the lease and arrange for the new lease to be signed by the Shack Lessees.  

Yes. The lease fee needs to be included in advertising, so this will need to be undertaken again when a new figure is proposed.

Yes.

Yes. Please refer to the documents on the Naval Base Shack website on applications to carry out works.  

In instances where a Shack Owner demonstrates a genuine urgent need to sell their Shack prior to the new lease being finalised, this can be considered by the City. However, the City is not able to warrant that a new lease will be available, or the terms of a new lease. The new lease requires the consent of the State, and endorsement by Council. As such, while the City can assign the current lease over to a new Shack Owner, it is not able to guarantee that they will be given a new lease, and the terms of any subsequent lease arrangement. 

Please send through any details regarding yourrequest to undertake a transfer/purchase.

Before a lease agreement can be assigned, Purchasers are required to complete and pass a vetting process. Please apply via email at shacks@cockburn.wa.gov.au

Shack Owners do have certain obligations under their lease that they are required to do each year. While the City will remind Shack Owners when possible, Shack Owners are responsible for these obligations regardless of whether the City follows it up.
The annual obligations will include:

• Payment of lease fee and demolition levy
• Providing a copy of current Public Liability Insurance

Property Services Officers are available by appointment. To make an appointment please email shacks@cockburn.gov.au
Do not attend the City without an appointment as its likely that an Officer won’t be available to meet with you without advance notice.


 

The lease fee is used to cover the following costs associated with the Naval Base Shacks:

• General maintenance
• Capital improvements
• Cleaning
• Utilities – water and electricity
• CCTV and security
• Waste removal via shared bins/bins provided on site (not tip passes)
• Emergency Service Levy

The lease fee does not include Council Rates. The shack owners do not pay Council Rates.
 

The City has only increased the cost of the lease twice in 12 years and the market has risen during that time. The proposed fee increase equates to $27 per day for the 120 permitted days.
The demolition levy has been increased by Consumer Price Index only so that the fee is in line with inflated costs should demolition be required.
 

The demolition levy was introduced in 2010-11 to cover the City’s costs in instances where a shack had to be removed and the leaseholder does not pay for its removal. This was implemented so that the City would not have to resort to expensive civil litigation to recover any outstanding debt or use municipal funds to remove private assets. The City quarantines these funds.  At the end of a lease, if the owner removes their shack and makes good they receive the total of the levy they have paid back. Otherwise, the City will use the levy for the demolition of shacks.

The costs of any works continue to increase each year in line with inflation, supply and demand. The payment of an annual demolition levy ensures that the funds the City holds in quarantine for the purpose of demolition (if required) will adequately cover costs incurred.
 

If a lease is terminated the Shack Owner will be required to remove their shack from the site as required under the lease conditions. If the Shack Owner does not remove their shack the City will use the demolition levy to demolish the shack and make good the land.
 

The City has sought legal advice regarding this which has determined that the Shacks belong to the Shack Owners and are not the City’s property to keep and sell regardless of a lease being terminated.
 

The intention of LPP4.5 is to protect the heritage nature of the whole the shacks at Naval Base Holiday Park with regard to their uniformity of scale that creates a unique landscape, and gives the place significant aesthetic appeal, especially when combined with the coastal setting. LPP4.5 does not remove or minimise the need to manage the site with regards to demolishing unleased shacks.
 

The Naval Base Management Plan will include consideration of engaging an independent planning consultant to advise the most appropriate use of vacant shack sites.
 

Under the conditions of the new lease Shack Owners will be required to have Public Liability insurance.
Most providers do offer these three insurances in a package for holiday accommodation.
It is up to each individual Shack Owner to decide whether they want to procure Building and Contents Insurance.
 

All Shack Owners should be aware of their obligation under the lease to provide annual insurance documents to the City. If a Shack Owner has failed to do this then a new lease will not be offered. The City has attempted to assist Shack Owners in this regard by requesting that a copy of their Public Liability insurance be provided. If the City has not received a copy of your current Public Liability insurance, then a new lease will not be offered. 

Kwinana is the State‘s major heavy industrial area. Many of these industries are located in Kwinana because they are potentially dangerous and they could not be located anywhere else in/near Perth. The recommended (by EPA) buffer from residences to a typical heavy industry is 1km to 5km. This is to provide protection to the residents by ensuring that any emissions are able to be diluted in the atmosphere before they reach the residential areas. It is also to provide some protection to these major industries of state and sometimes national significance so that they are not required to invest significant funds in excessive emission control and operational safety systems. The City's requirement is that the Shack is to be used for 120 days in any year no matter who is staying in the shack. The City is not supportive of some lessees using their shack for longer than 120 days in any year whatsoever, based on public health reasons.
 

A persistent breach means that if you break the conditions of your lease three times and receive a breach notice from the City for breaking the lease conditions. Three breaches provides the City with the option of terminating the lease if it is considered in the best interests of the site and community as a whole.
 

If you are continually breaching the conditions of your lease and those actions are causing damage to the site or hardship to other tenants then the City will consider terminating the Lease.
A breach of lease can include breaking of any condition of your lease, such as failing to pay your lease fee and demolition levy; not annually providing public liability insurance and breaching of any other condition in your lease.
 

No. There are no dumping facilities for portable toilets at Naval Base Shacks. There have been incidents of inappropriate dumping of portable toilet contents on site and as a result, portable toilets will not be approved.
 

It is a common requirement at holiday sites where users are located in a close proximity to one another that generator use be limited as it affects the enjoyment of the site by others. The restriction on the generators was agreed to during consultation with the original Naval Base Shack Community Reference Group (NBSCRG) as it was recommended by the group that the noise level was intolerable due to the close proximity of the shacks. Alternative power sources (solar and wind) that do not affect the enjoyment of the site by others are permitted.
 

Abiding to sprinkler days set by the Water Corporation have always been a condition of the Naval Base Shack leases as it’s a statutory obligation.
The reason they have now been included in the lease under their own section is to make clear tenants obligations when it comes to using Sprinklers.
The water usage at the Naval Shacks has been excessive with a total of 19,222,000 being used in the last 12 months (equal to 8 Olympic swimming pools). Sprinkler usage outside of the boundaries of approved watering days has contributed to that usage.
 

Like any ownership of holiday accommodation, you will need to make arrangements to maintain the surrounding area of your shack within the boundaries of the lease conditions.
 

The City understands that there are taps on site that are aged and it’s hard to find hose connections that fit and do not leak. The City is working through replacing and updating taps.
 

No. It is impossible for the City’s contractors to locate leaks with the amount of underground piping that has developed over time. Shacks can connect to the communal taps via hoses that are above ground only, similar to a caravan connection at a Caravan Park. The expectation is that shack owners will disconnect and store their hoses when not in use.
 

The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage and Westport have indicated that there is currently no impact of Westport to the Shacks site.
 

If you have any questions about lease conditions or what you need to do please email shacks@cockburn.wa.gov.au and a Property Services Officer will assist you with your questions.

Property Services Officers are available by appointment. To make an appointment please email shacks@cockburn.gov.au
Do not attend the City without an appointment as its likely that an Officer won’t be available to meet with you without advance notice.