Retaining Wall Design and Approval – Scenic Rim
Retaining Walls – Scenic Rim
Retaining walls within the Scenic Rim are structures designed to support and stabilise changes in ground level while complementing the region’s natural landscape character. They are commonly used to manage sloping sites, prevent soil erosion, improve site usability, and protect buildings, access ways, and drainage infrastructure.
In keeping with Scenic Rim’s rural and scenic qualities, retaining walls are typically constructed from durable, natural-looking materials such as timber sleepers, natural stone, masonry blocks, or concrete with textured or muted finishes. Walls are designed to integrate with the surrounding topography, vegetation, and built form, avoiding excessive height or visual dominance.
Appropriate drainage, engineering design, and setbacks are incorporated to ensure structural stability, minimise impacts on adjoining properties, and manage stormwater effectively.
Where possible, retaining walls are terraced or softened with landscaping to reduce visual impact and enhance environmental outcomes. Overall, retaining walls in the Scenic Rim aim to balance functional earth retention with aesthetic sensitivity, safety, and long-term durability, consistent with the area’s scenic and environmental values.
Council / Regulatory Style
Retaining walls are structures used to support and retain soil where changes in ground level are required as part of development. They are typically associated with earthworks, building platforms, access ways, and boundary treatments, and are intended to ensure site stability, manage landform changes, and prevent erosion or land slippage.
Retaining walls must be designed and constructed in accordance with relevant Australian Standards, engineering requirements, and applicable local planning scheme provisions. Wall height, location, and setbacks are to be appropriate to the site conditions and adjoining land uses, and must not adversely impact neighbouring properties, infrastructure, or drainage patterns.
Adequate drainage is required behind and beneath retaining walls to prevent hydrostatic pressure and ensure long-term structural performance. Where retaining walls exceed prescribed height thresholds or are located near boundaries, certification by a suitably qualified engineer is required.
Materials and finishes are to be durable and appropriate to the development context, with consideration given to visual amenity, safety, and maintenance. Landscaping may be required to mitigate visual impacts, particularly where retaining walls are visible from public areas.
Retaining walls are to be constructed and maintained so as to remain structurally sound, safe, and visually acceptable for the life of the development.
Construction / Engineering Focus
Retaining walls are engineered structures designed to resist lateral earth pressures and support changes in ground level created by excavation or filling works. Their primary function is to ensure ground stability, prevent soil movement, and protect buildings, pavements, and infrastructure from failure or erosion. Retaining walls are designed based on site-specific geotechnical conditions, including soil type, groundwater conditions, surcharge loads, and slope geometry. Design considerations include wall type selection (e.g. gravity, cantilever, sleeper, reinforced soil, or crib walls), footing design, bearing capacity, and resistance to sliding, overturning, and bearing failure.
Effective drainage systems, such as agricultural drains, weep holes, and free-draining backfill, are integral to retaining wall performance and are designed to relieve hydrostatic pressure and control groundwater movement. Structural components are designed in accordance with relevant Australian Standards and engineering best practice. Materials are selected for strength, durability, and environmental exposure, including treated timber, reinforced concrete, masonry, steel, or proprietary retaining systems. Construction is undertaken in accordance with approved drawings, specifications, and manufacturer requirements, with appropriate compaction of backfill and quality control during installation.
Professional / Technical
Walls within the Scenic Rim region form an integral component of both structural and architectural outcomes, providing support, enclosure, screening, and definition of spaces while responding to site conditions and the area’s scenic and environmental context. Wall types may include building walls, boundary walls, retaining walls, and freestanding landscape or acoustic walls.
Design and construction of walls are to be appropriate to the intended function, loading conditions, and exposure environment. Structural walls are designed to resist vertical and lateral loads in accordance with relevant Australian Standards, taking into account wind actions, soil pressures (where applicable), and durability requirements. Non-structural walls are designed to ensure stability, safety, and serviceability over the life of the development.
Material selection reflects both performance and contextual considerations. Common materials include masonry, reinforced concrete, timber, steel, and lightweight cladding systems, selected based on strength, durability, fire performance, and maintenance requirements. In the Scenic Rim, finishes and colours are typically subdued or natural in appearance to complement the surrounding landscape and built form character.
Foundations and footings are designed to suit site-specific soil conditions and topography, ensuring adequate bearing capacity and control of settlement. Where walls interact with changes in ground level, appropriate drainage and detailing are incorporated to manage moisture, groundwater, and surface runoff.
Construction is undertaken in accordance with approved plans, technical specifications, and manufacturer requirements, with appropriate workmanship and quality control measures.
Wall Design & Approvals – Scenic Rim
Wall design within the Scenic Rim is required to respond to both technical performance and the region’s distinctive scenic, rural, and environmental character. Walls may include building walls, retaining walls, boundary walls, and freestanding landscape or screening walls, each of which must be designed to suit site conditions, intended function, and regulatory requirements.
All walls are to be appropriately designed for structural stability, durability, and safety, having regard to site-specific factors such as slope, soil conditions, exposure, drainage, and proximity to boundaries, waterways, and infrastructure.
Where walls perform a structural or earth-retention function, design by a suitably qualified professional is required and must demonstrate compliance with relevant Australian Standards and engineering best practice.
Approvals for walls are assessed in accordance with the Scenic Rim Planning Scheme and associated codes. Matters considered include wall height, location, setbacks, visual impact, drainage impacts, and potential effects on adjoining properties. Retaining walls above prescribed height thresholds, walls located on or near boundaries, or walls supporting buildings or driveways typically require engineering certification and may require a development application or building approval.