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Registered Building Practitioners
Whilst we have forged our enviable reputation on the homes we have built over the last 32 years, from time to time we have been asked to build a boutique apartment block, or renovate an apartment in a larger block already built. Even fitting out an office or restaurant can be considered Class 2 work if there are dwellings above the place we are working.
From 1 July 2021, Design and Building Practitioners working on Class 2 buildings are required to register under a new compliance declaration scheme.
This new registration scheme is part of a reform program to restore confidence in the residential construction industry and make sure that apartments being built are trustworthy. Find out more about the Design and Building Practitioners Act on this website.
The key focus is on the areas of greatest risk to the consumer, and are usually the most expensive to fix retrospectively – namely structural defects, waterproofing, fire compliance, and mechanical services, just to name a few.
We have had several discussions with the Office of the Building Commissioner, and attended various forums over the last few months. It is certainly a work in progress. David Chandler, the Building Commissioner has made several things quite clear:
- The idea is to get rid of the “cowboys” in the industry, and give the consumer what they are paying for.
- Prevention is the best cure, and by designing properly to begin with, and making designers and builders accountable, they hope to avoid the issues that have been seen over the past few years.
- Designs of high-risk elements in a building will have to be registered prior to a construction certificate being issued, monitored during construction, and certified at the end, prior to the issuing of an occupation certificate.
- Though it may appear to increase the cost of building at the beginning (and clearly it will), it is still much cheaper to do it right the first time, than to go back after and fix it later, and avoid expensive remedial repairs and ongoing maintenance costs above what would be considered normal.
- Those building practitioners (and many already are) that are doing the right thing have nothing to fear – they may even benefit from not having unqualified practitioners be compared to them.
- Once the issues with Class 2 buildings have been ironed out, similar concepts will trickle down to Class 1 buildings as well.
We have already started to see the impact of the reforms, with HBCF policy premiums for multi-residential dwellings and renovations increasing exponentially (literally by a factor of ten).
It is clear to us that designers such as Architects, Interior Designers, Engineers of all specialties, and various consultants for areas such as Waterproofing will require a detailed understanding of the system and relevant codes, and good management systems and processes in place in order to achieve compliance, and minimise risk.
Horizon has made the application to be registered, and we are delighted to announce this has been accepted!
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