To begin, we kindly ask that you share some initial details about your project. This allows us to assess whether our company is the right fit for your needs. Once reviewed, a member of our team will be in touch within five business days to discuss the next steps.
Australia's most prestigious suburb. Renovation builders for Toorak's heritage mansions, period homes and grand family houses.
Toorak is Melbourne's most elite suburb, with the highest average property values in the city and a name that has meant prestige for over 150 years. It sits in the City of Stonnington, about 5 kilometres south-east of the CBD, bounded by the Yarra River to the north. The 2021 Census recorded a population of 12,817 (Australian Bureau of Statistics), and the postcode ranks among the highest earning in Australia. For builders in Toorak, every brief carries the same expectation: the work has to match the address.
The suburb's history is written in its houses. Toorak House, built between 1848 and 1851 on St Georges Road, served as Victoria's first Government House from 1854 to 1876, is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register as H0207, and gave the suburb its name. The grand estates of the nineteenth century were progressively subdivided, which makes the surviving Victorian and Edwardian mansions, Georgian revival homes and interwar houses all the more valuable, and all the more protected. Streets such as St Georges Road and Irving Road still carry some of the most significant residential architecture in the country.
Heritage controls follow that significance. The City of Stonnington operates one of the most substantial heritage overlay schedules in Victoria, and Toorak's period homes and streetscapes are heavily covered, with Toorak House itself protected under Heritage Overlay HO99. So the first step in any home renovation in Toorak is to confirm the heritage controls on your property under the Stonnington Planning Scheme, before you set a scope or a budget.
Toorak is built around Toorak Village, the boutique strip on Toorak Road that carries the suburb's cafes, restaurants, galleries and high-end services. The village serves residents rather than visitors, and it has anchored the suburb's daily life for a century.
The schools are among the strongest concentrations in the country. St Catherine's School, Loreto Mandeville Hall, St Kevin's College and Geelong Grammar's Toorak campus all sit within the suburb, and they shape where families buy and how long they stay.
Toorak is well connected for a suburb of its scale. Toorak station links residents to the CBD on the Frankston line, and tram route 58 runs the length of Toorak Road.
The streets themselves are the amenity. Wide, leafy and quiet, they carry the gardens and established trees that the suburb's planning controls protect. The result is a community with the highest expectations in Melbourne, where renovation work is measured against the best residential architecture in the country.
One licensed builder is accountable from start to finish. Zac Porter, BPC DB-U 100-151, personally manages every home renovation, extension, kitchen and bathroom project Lilac Constructions delivers in Toorak. You deal with one person, and every trade, inspection and decision runs through a single point of accountability from the first conversation to handover.
The team behind each build is consistent. In-house carpenters work alongside a trusted network of trades who have delivered home renovations and extensions together across Melbourne. Carpentry, plumbing, electrical, tiling, plastering and waterproofing come from the same team on every job, which is how quality holds from demolition to handover.
The work is built around what Toorak homes require. The suburb's surviving Victorian and Edwardian mansions, Georgian revival and interwar homes are among the most valuable and most protected residential buildings in Australia. They demand like-for-like craftsmanship in plaster, timber, brick and slate, and they sit under some of Stonnington's strictest heritage controls. Understanding exactly what applies to your property comes before any design begins.
Communication matches the size of the investment. A home renovation in Toorak is a significant undertaking at any scale, so you always know where the project stands, what is next, and who is responsible. Fixed-price contracts mean the figure agreed at the start is the figure you pay at handover, with no variations introduced mid-build.
Do I need a planning permit to renovate in Toorak?Often yes. The City of Stonnington operates one of the most significant heritage overlay schedules in Victoria, and Toorak's period homes and streetscapes are heavily covered. If your property sits in a Heritage Overlay, you generally need a planning permit to demolish or remove a building, alter the exterior, construct a new building, or make any change that is visible from the street.
What work does not need a planning permit in Toorak?Internal work usually does not. Unless your Heritage Overlay schedule says otherwise, a planning permit is generally not required for internal alterations, repainting an already painted surface, or routine repairs and maintenance that do not change the look of the building. In practice, most kitchen renovations and bathroom renovations in Toorak proceed under a building permit alone.
How does heritage grading work in Stonnington?Your grading sets how much you can change on the outside. Significant properties, graded A1, A2 or B, hold national, state or high local significance, and Toorak carries some of the city's most significant homes, including state-registered places such as Toorak House. Contributory properties support intact heritage precincts, while non-contributory properties carry fewer external controls. The grading shapes what is realistic before design work begins.
Can I get a faster VicSmart permit in Toorak?Sometimes. VicSmart is a streamlined state process, decided within 10 business days for certain simple works such as some external alterations, front fences and minor structures. Eligibility depends on your property's grading, and not all works qualify.
What is the difference between a planning permit and a building permit?They are two separate approvals. A planning permit deals with land use and design under the Stonnington Planning Scheme. A building permit deals with construction safety under the Building Act 1993. For home extensions and structural work in Toorak you usually need both, and the planning permit must come before the building permit.
How do I check the heritage controls on my Toorak property?You can check your Heritage Overlay status and grading on the Victorian Government's VicPlan map at mapshare.vic.gov.au, on the zones and overlays map at stonnington.vic.gov.au, or on the Victorian Heritage Database at vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au. The City of Stonnington is based at 311 Glenferrie Road, Malvern, offers heritage advice sessions with its heritage advisor, and can be reached on 03 8290 1333.
The brief for home renovations in Toorak carries the highest expectations in Melbourne. A Victorian or Edwardian mansion, a Georgian revival home or an interwar house holds significant original fabric at the front and a layout that no longer suits how the household lives. Home renovations in Toorak are about preserving and restoring that fabric to the standard the address demands while completely rethinking how the home functions behind it. Heritage Overlay controls under the Stonnington Planning Scheme apply across much of the suburb and must be understood before any external work is designed.
Kitchen renovations in Toorak are measured against the best residential interiors in the country. The brief usually means opening the rear of a period home, relocating plumbing and electrical, and delivering a kitchen where stone, joinery and appliances sit at the top of the market. Because internal work generally proceeds under a building permit alone, kitchen renovations in Toorak avoid most planning delays, though premium materials and custom joinery shape the timeline.
Bathroom renovations in Toorak combine hidden compliance with visible luxury. Period homes regularly carry waterproofing that was never compliant and original plumbing that needs proper assessment before any work begins, while the finished room has to deliver the stone, tapware and detailing the suburb expects. Adding an ensuite or second bathroom is a common brief in Toorak's larger homes. Every Lilac Constructions bathroom renovation in Toorak is waterproofed to Australian Standard AS 3740, with full compliance documentation provided at handover.
Home extensions in Toorak are the most heritage-sensitive work in the suburb, because the homes being extended are often significant in their own right. The approach approved most often keeps the original facade and principal rooms completely intact and adds to the rear, designed with heritage impact in mind and held below the original roofline where the streetscape requires it. For properties under a Heritage Overlay within the Stonnington Planning Scheme, the planning permit must be obtained before the building permit can be issued. Lilac Constructions handles planning permits, building permits and the full construction of every home extension in Toorak under one fixed-price contract.
