Designers will need to declare that their designs for critical features of apartment complexes comply with the National Construction Code (NCC) and relevant standards for whilst builders will need to declare that the built form complies with the approved designs under a major piece of legislation now in force throughout New South Wales

The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 came into force on July 1.

The new legislation is part of the NSW Government’s plan to improve building quality and safety and to respond to recommendations of the Building Confidence report prepared by Professor Peter Shergold and lawyer Bronwyn Weir.

It applies to buildings which are either classified as being Class 2 buildings under the National Construction Code (apartment complexes) or which feature a Class 2 component.

Changes include:

• A new registration scheme for design and building practitioners along with a separate new registration scheme for professional engineers.
• A new requirement that aspects of Class 2 building design which are important for quality and safety be declared by registered design practitioners to comply with the NCC and relevant standards prior to the commencement of building work.
• A new requirement for a registered builder to declare that the building has been constructed according to the approved design.
• A new requirement that ‘declared designs’ be lodged on the NSW Planning Portal.

The first part of this change involves the newly established registration schemes.

Two schemes are now in force:

• Registration for design and building practitioners who will declare or lodge documents (see below); and
• Registration for certain types of engineers.

The first scheme involves registration for design and building practitioners who will declare or lodge documents.

Available classes of registered design practitioner under this scheme include architecture, body corporate, building design, civil engineering, drainage, electrical engineering, façade work, fire safety engineering, fire safety engineering, fire systems (sprinklers, alarm systems, hydrants, hose reels, smoke controls), geotechnical engineering, mechanical engineering, structural engineering and vertical transportation.

Designer practitioners in these areas will need to be registered in order to perform design work certain types of designs for Class 2 buildings (see below) and to declare that their designs comply with the NCC and relevant standards.

Where they are not registered, practitioners will need to work under supervision of a registered practitioner who will make the relevant declaration.

Builders, meanwhile, will need to register if they are the principal building contractor on Class 2 buildings in order to declare that the building has been constructed in accordance with plans and specifications and is built in accordance with NCC/Australian standard requirements.

Only the principal building practitioner needs to registered and to provide the compliance declaration.

Subcontractors and trade contractors do not need to be registered under this particular legislation.

Engineers, meanwhile, will need to register if they wish to perform civil, structural, geotechnical, electrical, fire safety or mechanical engineering work on Class 2 buildings or buildings with Class 2 components.

Those not registered will only be able to perform such work under supervision of a registered engineer.

Next, the Act specifies that certain aspects of the design on a Class 2 building or buildings with Class 2 components be declared by registered design practitioners to comply with the NCC and relevant Australian standards prior to the commencement of building work.

These are known as ‘regulated designs’, and incorporate the following:

• Performance solutions
• Building work
• Specific elements which are critical for building quality and safety. These are defined to include fire safety systems, waterproofing, building structure, building enclosure or building services.

Before they can commence construction, the registered building practitioner will need to collect each of the relevant designs and lodge them on the NSW Planning Portal.

Before an occupancy certificate can be issued, meanwhile, the registered building practitioner will need to declare that the building has been constructed with a compliant design along with any approved variations.

NSW Minister for Better Regulation Kevin Anderson said new law responds to recommendations in the Building Confidence report and will help to deliver greater confidence for apartment owners.

He says requirements for registration and lodgement of declared designs prior to construction means that designs for a high-rise apartments will have to meet a minimum standard and be lodged with the regulator before construction commences.

The government is also undertaking targeted audits of these designs to enable issues can be identified and addressed before construction commences.

“In the past consumers have been wary about buying new or off-the-plan apartments because of the risk of poor building work and design standards – but that ends today,” Anderson said.

“We are transforming the building sector by making it more transparent and accountable so homebuyers can have peace of mind.”

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler OAM will continue to lead the FairTrading inspections teams responsible for compliance audits.

Chandler said the changes would put the responsibility back onto designers and builders to ensure that work is up to standard.

Details of the changes are available here.