In short
We work in Googong at the same prices as Canberra: a building defect report is from $1,290 + GST ($1,419 inc GST) and retaining wall engineering is from $890 + GST ($979 inc GST). Googong is in New South Wales, so Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, the Googong development control plan and NSW codes apply, not ACT rules. Almost every home here is a new, detached house on hilly ground.
Structural engineer Googong: local facts
- Timeline
- Rezoned 2006; civil works from 2012; first residents February 2014; completion expected around 2034
- People
- 7,444 in 2021; about 18,000 planned
- Homes in 2021
- 94.4% separate houses, 4.7% semi-detached or townhouses, 0.7% flats (ABS)
- Developer
- A Peet and Mirvac joint venture; Mirvac's listing shows 5,072 lots
- Terrain
- Named among the hilly new estates around Canberra
- Rules
- QPRC, the Googong DCP and the NSW exempt and complying development codes
How new is Googong?
Very new. Googong is a planned town developed by a Peet and Mirvac joint venture. The land was rezoned in 2006, civil works began in 2012 and the first residents moved in in February 2014. Building is expected to finish around 2034, with about 18,000 people planned, and Mirvac's project listing shows 5,072 lots.
In the 2021 Census Googong had 7,444 people, and 94.4% of occupied dwellings were separate houses, 4.7% semi-detached or townhouses and 0.7% flats. So nearly every home here is a detached house built since 2014, and new streets are still going up.
What if my new Googong home has defects?
Get them documented early. A building defect report records structural defects in a new house, explains them and sets out the scope for fixing them, so you can take it to your builder.
Builder warranties and defect claims in Googong follow New South Wales law, not the ACT's, and this page doesn't set out the NSW periods. Check the timing with your builder or a NSW adviser before any deadline passes. Our report is engineering only: we don't build, repair or recommend who does, so it isn't written to win the repair.
How do hilly blocks affect building in Googong?
They bring retaining walls, cut and fill, and footings that step with the ground. A local property feature on sloping blocks, published in September 2025, listed Googong among the hilly, undulating or mountainous new estates around Canberra.
We don't publish a soil or rock picture for Googong, and we never give a suburb a site class. Each block gets its own site classification and footing design (how much the soil on your block moves as it wets and dries, and the footings to suit), with the soil test arranged at cost.
For a wall that holds back a cut or a fill, retaining wall engineering gives your certifier and builder calculations and drawings. For a pool on a slope, pool engineering covers the shell and how it sits beside the house and the boundaries. Our guide to building on a new estate block explains the engineering side of sloping blocks; its approval rules are the ACT's, so in Googong the NSW ones apply instead.
Which rules apply in Googong?
New South Wales rules, through Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC). Googong has its own development control plan, the Googong DCP, alongside the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional LEP 2022 and the NSW exempt and complying development codes. You can read the Googong DCP on QPRC's website.
Depending on the work, it goes through a development application to QPRC or a complying development certificate, with construction and occupation certificates from QPRC or a private certifier. Your certifier confirms which applies to your job; we supply the engineering for it.
What does a structural engineer cost in Googong?
No different from Canberra. Typical Googong jobs, ex GST with the inc GST figure beside:
| Your situation | Service | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Cracks or movement in a new house | Building defect report | From $1,290 + GST ($1,419 inc GST) |
| A wall for a cut or a fill | Retaining wall engineering | From $890 + GST ($979 inc GST) |
| A pool on a sloping block | Pool engineering | From $990 + GST ($1,089 inc GST) |
| Footings or a slab for new work | Footings, slabs and site classification (soil test at cost) | From $1,290 + GST ($1,419 inc GST) |
| A deck over falling ground | Carport, pergola or deck engineering | From $590 + GST ($649 inc GST) |
| Adding rooms to a new house | Extension design | Fixed quote, from your plans |
Send your house plans or photos of the slope, up to 5 files, with the form above for a fixed quote in under 20 minutes on average, during business hours. We also cover Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra, also under NSW rules.
