21 May 2021

Well-publicised defective high-rise apartment buildings and issues with combustible cladding in recent times has led to the development of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (DBPA). 

DBPA aims to restore public confidence in the building industry by regulating the design and construction of new buildings.

Among other changes, the DBPA imposes a requirement for ‘compliance declarations’. 

In this article we explore what a compliance declaration entails and how NBS can assist design practitioners specify compliant products.

Compliance declarations under the Design and Building Practitioners Act

From 1 July 2021, for certain building work under the DBPA (Class 2 buildings or building with a Class 2 part in NSW), design and building practitioners will be required to provide declarations as to whether the building work complies with the requirements of the Building Code of Australia (BCA) prior to an Occupation Certificate (OC) being issued.

There are three types of compliance declarations:

  1. Design Compliance Declaration
  2. Principal Compliance Declaration
  3. Building Compliance Declaration

Here’s how it works:

Stage 1: Before the building work starts:

A registered Design Practitioner submits the Design Compliance Declaration to declare compliance with the BCA and other relevant standards.

Stage 2: After the building work starts:

Declarations of variations must be made in relation to proposed variations to regulated designs.

Stage 3: Before the Occupation Certificate (OC) is issued:

A registered Building Practitioner (the person who agrees to oversee the building work) submits the Building Compliance Declaration to declare the building work has been constructed in accordance with the compliant designs and BCA. 

They must give the Principal Design Practitioner (the person who coordinates and collects designs and declarations from other practitioners) notice before doing so, to allow the Principal Design Practitioner time to complete the Principal Compliance Declaration.

The Principal Certifier will only issue an OC if they are satisfied that all compliance declarations required have been lodged.

Product certifications in NBS Source

In order to certify that a design is compliant with the BCA, certification for every product specified is necessary.

On NBS Source, our building product search platform, manufacturers can upload Third Party Certifications to support  their product listings.

This allows designers, specifiers and architects to make informed decisions when specifying products.
 
Looking to get your certified products in front of specifiers? List them on NBS Source.

NBS Source integrates directly with our specification software, NBS Chorus, making it easier for specifiers to find, select and specify your products.

Find out more about NBS Source here.