Does a basement count as a storey?
No, a genuine basement is not counted in the same way as an above-ground storey. However, simply calling a level a “basement” on the plans does not make it one.
To qualify as a basement, the floor immediately above it must be less than 1 m above DGL. This allows part of the basement to extend above ground while still being classified as a basement.
Example: If a house is permitted to have two storeys plus a basement, the basement does not automatically become a third storey provided it satisfies the Territory Plan’s basement criterea
Reference: ACT Planning, Advisory Note 09 – Building Heights, Storeys and Basements – Building heights, storeys and basements
Short Answer
No, a basement does not count as a storey where it meets the Territory Plan requirements for a basement. For Territory Plan purposes, a floor is considered a basement only where the finished floor level of the level immediately above is less than 1.0 m above Datum Ground Level (DGL).
Detailed Explanation
Advisory Note 09 – Building Heights, Storeys and Basements, under “What is a basement, lower floor level and upper floor level?”, explains that a basement is generally a part of a building wholly or predominantly below DGL.
More importantly, it states that for the purposes of the Territory Plan:
a floor is a basement only if the finished floor level of the level immediately above is less than 1.0 m above datum ground level.
The Advisory Note separately identifies a lower floor level as a level with a finished floor level 1.5 m or less above DGL at any point, and an upper floor level as one with a finished floor level 1.5 m or more above DGL at any point.
Therefore, whether a lower level counts toward the permitted storeys depends on whether it actually qualifies as a basement under the Territory Plan, rather than what it is labelled on the architectural drawings.
No minimum block size does not remove the need for planning assessment.
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