The Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 (the Regulation) identifies the requirements for head contractors to be successfully registered as a building practitioner under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 to do Class 2 building work.
Recent Relevant Experience Requirements
1. For a Body Corporate (i.e. a company): Must hold a contractor licence authorising them to do general building work under the Home Building Act 1989 and nominate a Body Corporate Nominee.
2. For a Body Corporate Nominee: Must be a holder of a supervisor certificate authorising them to do general building work under the Home Building Act 1989. They must have 5 years in the last 10 years relevant practical experience.
3. For General (Individual) Applicants: Must be a holder of an endorsed contractor licence authorising the holder to perform general building work under the Home Building Act 1989. They must have 5 years in the last 10 years relevant practical experience.
Relevant practical experience is the carrying out of building work involving a class 2, 3, 9a or 9c building.
There are 2 education modules that have to be completed: 1. On the Act and Regulation; and 2. On the regulations made under and relevant sections of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and Volumes 1 and 2 of the Building Code of Australia.
Work Excluded from Requirement to be Registered:
- Exempt development, other than waterproofing;
- Work that is waterproofing only if the work is in a bathroom, laundry, kitchen or toilet (and is exempt development, and only relates to a single dwelling);
- Work that is the fit-out of part of a building, but only if the part of the building is a Class 5 or 6 part, and if the work is the subject of a development consent that primarily relates to the fit-out, and to the extent the work does not relate to a structural component of the building.
For the complete list of exclusions see Division 3 Section 13 of the Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021.
Exempt development under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 is development that is declared to be exempt development by an environmental planning instrument because of its minor impact.
Possible Additional Categories
The NSW Government is considering adding further building practitioner categories to enable builders to gain experience if they don’t already have the 5 years relevant practical experience and to assist with works that should not require that amount of experience. It is hoped that these possible categories will be available in March 2022.
The further categories being considered are:
Low Rise
Is for a company that holds a builders licence and the nominee has at least 3 years in the last 10 years practical experience, including 1 year experience coordinating or supervising general residential building, that relates to the carrying out of building work involving a class 1, 2, 3, 9a or 9c building.
Low rise building means a class 2 building or a building containing a class 2 part that has a maximum gross floor area of no more than 2,000m2, but does not include a building that is Type A or Type B construction.
Medium Rise
Is for a company that holds a builders licence and the nominee has at least 3 years in the last 10 years practical experience, including 2 years experience coordinating or supervising general residential building, that relates to the carrying out of building work involving a class 1, 2, 3, 9a or 9c building.
Medium rise building means the following classes of building, but does not include a building that is Type A construction for the purposes of a class 4, 5, 6, 7b and 8 building—
(a) a class 2 building or a building containing a part of a class 2 building that has a rise in storeys of no more than 3,
(b) for a building in relation to which the ground level or first storey of the building is classified as a class 7a building—a class 2 building or a building containing a part of a class 2 building that has a rise in storeys of no more than 4.
Any inquiries should be directed to MBA Legal on (02) 8586 3517