Services / Planning permit
Council-ready Blue Factor reports.
For townhouse, dual occupancy and small commercial applications under Clauses 55.05-1 and 53.18, built to reach 100% properly, within 48 hours.
Every report accepted to date
What the report looks like.
Why Beyond Green
Ready for council
Written to the council’s own policy or the NCC edition that applies, ready to lodge.
Within 48 hours
From a complete set of drawings.
A quick quote
From your plans, before any work starts.
One drawing set
Planning reports prepared together from the same plans, so you brief one consultant.
Memberships & accreditations
- Pending
“Made a noticeable difference on that project.”
“No packages, no run-around, just the reports the job actually needed.”
“We've used him on pretty much everything since.”
Before you send the drawings
What drawings do you need?
The site plan and the area schedule, plus the landscape plan if there is one and the drainage layout if it exists.
Tank sizes are checked across every sheet, because they often disagree.
Is it written to my council’s requirements?
Yes.
Each report follows the council’s own policy, planning scheme clauses and template where it has one.
What if council asks for further information?
Send the request to us.
Questions about our report are answered from the same drawing set.
What is a Blue Factor score?
The result of a Blue Factor stormwater assessment.
It is calculated on total nitrogen: a score of 100% or more means the nitrogen reduction target has been met, and a small, low-risk project is deemed to comply.
The result also lists suspended solids, phosphorus, gross pollutants and how much runoff is harvested and infiltrated.
Who asks for a Blue Factor report?
Councils, through the planning scheme's stormwater provisions: Clause 55.05-1 for townhouses and dual occupancies, Clause 53.18 for other buildings and works, and Clause 56.07-4 for residential subdivision.
Those clauses sit in every Victorian planning scheme, and Blue Factor is the tool that replaced STORM for showing compliance.
Is Blue Factor the same as STORM?
It replaced it.
Melbourne Water stopped new STORM projects on 14 October 2025.
A new planning application goes in with a Blue Factor result rather than a STORM rating.
How it runs
- 01
Send the plans
Upload the drawing set or email it. Name, email and report type; the rest is optional.
- 02
Scope confirmed
What the job needs, checked against your drawings.
- 03
Quote with it
You see the requirements and the fee before you go ahead.
- 04
Final report
Ready for the surveyor or council.
Who it’s for
- Small developments up to about one hectare with no internal roads
- Townhouses, dual occupancies and simple small commercial projects
- Sites that need to move from a STORM rating to Blue Factor
Tell us about the project.
- What will it cost?
- A quick quote from your plans, before any work starts.
- Will council accept it?
- Every report is written to the council’s own policy or the NCC edition that applies.
Beyond Green Energy Assessments
Blue Factor reports: the details
What it covers
- The Blue Factor score, calculated on total nitrogen
- Suspended solids, phosphorus, gross pollutants, harvested and infiltrated runoff
- Design changes in the cheapest order when a site scores under 100%
When council asks for it
Councils ask for it through the planning scheme's stormwater provisions: Clauses 55.05-1, 53.18 and 56.07-4.
Larger sites, or sites with roads and car parks, need MUSIC modelling, which is outside this service.
Official references: Blue Factor, Planning Victoria. .