How close to my boundary can a retaining wall be built?

There’s no single fixed distance — this depends on your specific council’s requirements, the wall’s height, and whether it sits on or near an easement. Some retaining walls are built directly on the boundary line itself, which is common and often necessary given how retaining walls function.

What genuinely matters more than an arbitrary distance is whether the wall’s design and construction properly account for its proximity to the boundary — drainage direction, any impact on a neighbouring property, and structural considerations if there’s an existing structure nearby.

Checking with your council and, where the wall is near a boundary, being upfront with your neighbour, are both worth doing early rather than treating boundary proximity as a detail to resolve after construction begins.

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