Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021

This Regulation is the Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021.

This Regulation commences on 1 July 2021 and is required to be published on the NSW legislation website.

The Dictionary to this Regulation defines certain terms used in this Regulation.

Note—

The Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Regulation.

In this Regulation, construction issued regulated design means a regulated design for which a design compliance declaration is provided that—

contains the necessary detail to produce building work that would achieve compliance with the Building Code of Australia, and

can be used by a building practitioner to carry out the work in accordance with the regulated design and the Building Code of Australia.

In subclause (1)(a), the necessary detail includes—

the proposed dimensions of the completed building, and

the characteristics and materials comprising the proposed building, and

the location of the building elements and systems proposed to be built.

However, a reference in subclause (2)(a) or (b) to a building is, in relation to a construction issued regulated design for building work carried out under more than 1 construction certificate, a reference to a part of the building to which the construction certificate relates.

Note—

See the Act, section 4(3), which provides that a reference to a building includes a reference to part of a building.

In addition to subclauses (1)(a) and (2), a construction issued regulated design for building work carried out under more than 1 construction certificate must, as far as reasonably practicable, integrate details of other aspects of the building work to which the design relates.

For the Act, section 6(1)(f), the aspects of a vertical transportation product that are required to achieve compliance with the Building Code of Australia are prescribed.

This Division applies to a regulated design for which a compliance declaration is required to be provided under the Act and this Regulation.

Note—

Section 5(3) of the Act provides that the Minister may, by order, specify particulars that are additional to those prescribed by this Regulation for regulated designs.

For the purposes of section 5(2) of the Act, a regulated design that is prepared for a performance solution for building work, including a building element, must be in the form of a report that includes the following—

relevant plans that show, or specifications that describe, the physical elements of the performance solution, if any,

a description and justification of the performance solution, including—

the acceptance criteria and parameters on which the justification is based, and

a description of the physical elements of the performance solution, and

restrictions or conditions of the performance solution, and

a copy of the brief on which the justification of the performance solution is based,

a statement that the performance solution complies with the relevant performance requirements of the Building Code of Australia,

information that identifies the deemed-to-satisfy provisions of the Building Code of Australia being varied, where relevant.

A report for a regulated design that is prepared for a performance solution must comply with the applicable evidence requirements for the design specified in the Building Code of Australia, Volume 1, A2G2.

In this clause—

deemed-to-satisfy provisions has the same meaning as in the Building Code of Australia.

For the purposes of section 5(2) of the Act, a fire resisting regulated design must include information, whether written, in the form of a drawing or otherwise, that explains how a fire-resistance level will be achieved and maintained in circumstances where a penetration to a building element occurs—

during the installation or maintenance of services in relation to building work, or

at another time during the building work.

Note—

The Building Code of Australia specifies requirements for when a service that penetrates a building element must have a particular fire-resistance level, and other requirements for service penetrations.

In this clause—

fire resisting regulated design means a regulated design that includes—

a building element that is required to have a fire-resistance level under the Building Code of Australia, or

a floor or ceiling that is required to have resistance to the incipient spread of fire under the Building Code of Australia.

For the purposes of section 5(2) of the Act, a regulated design for building work relating to the integration of a vertical transportation product in a building to which the building work relates must include the registration number of the product if the product is used, or is proposed to be used, in a workplace.

Note—

The Work Health and Safety Act 2011, section 42, provides that the design of a vertical transportation product that is used in a workplace must be authorised in accordance with the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017.

In this clause—

registration number means the registration number for the vertical transportation product referred to in the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017, clause 273.

workplace has the same meaning as in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

For the purposes of section 8(1)(b) of the Act, it is an applicable requirement that a regulated design must, as far as is reasonably practicable, integrate details of the following—

other aspects of building work to which the design relates,

other regulated designs for the work, including designs prepared by other registered design practitioners for building work.

For the purposes of section 8(1)(d) of the Act, a design compliance declaration must include the following matters—

whether or not any building product referred to in the design would, if used in a way that is consistent with the design, achieve compliance with the Building Code of Australia,

whether or not the design to which the compliance declaration relates involves a performance solution,

whether or not the design accords with relevant elements of guidance material for regulated designs that have been approved by the Secretary and published on a website of the Department,

whether or not specialist advice was sought and considered in preparing the design,

for a registered design practitioner in the class of design practitioner—vertical transportation—

whether or not the design appropriately integrates a vertical transportation product in accordance with the product’s authorisation under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, section 42, and

if the design does not appropriately integrate the vertical transportation product—whether or not the practitioner has advised the designer of the product, within the meaning of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, section 22, of that fact, and

whether or not the integration of the vertical transportation product in the design for building work achieves compliance with the requirements of AS 1735, Lifts, Escalators, and Moving Walks, as in force from time to time.

In this clause—

building product includes a material or other thing that is, or could be, used in a building.

used in a building, for a building product, means the product is incorporated into, connected to, or otherwise installed in a building by means of, building work.

For the purposes of section 107(5) of the Act, a registered principal design practitioner is exempt from the requirement to include the matters referred to in section 8(2)(a) and (b) of the Act in a principal compliance declaration if—

the practitioner is providing the compliance declaration in accordance with clause 21(a), and

the principal compliance declaration includes the following matters—

whether or not a design compliance declaration has been provided in accordance with the Act for each construction issued regulated design prepared for the building work,

whether or not each design compliance declaration for the designs referred to in subparagraph (i) has been provided by a registered design practitioner whose registration authorises the practitioner to provide a declaration as to the matters to which the declaration relates.