Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021

This Regulation is the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021.

This Regulation commences on 1 January 2022, except as provided by subsection (2), and is required to be published on the NSW legislation website.

Schedule 3[7]–[9] and 4 commence on the day on which this Regulation is published on the NSW legislation website.

The Dictionary in Schedule 2 defines words used in this Regulation.

Note—

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Regulation.

Words used in this Regulation have the same meanings as in the Standard Instrument, unless otherwise defined in this Regulation.

A reference in this Regulation to building work does not include a reference to physical activity involved in the erection of a temporary structure.

A reference in this Regulation to an existing building does not include a reference to a temporary structure.

In this Regulation, a reference to a class 1a or 10 building is a reference to—

for the erection of a new building—a building that will be a class 1a or 10 building when completed, and

for the alteration of an existing building—an existing class 1a or 10 building, and

for the change of building use for an existing building—an existing building that will be a class 1a or 10 building as a result of the change of building use.

A certifier must not issue a compliance certificate unless the certificate contains the following information—

the name of the certifier,

if the certifier is a registered body corporate—the name of the individual who issued the certificate,

if the certifier is a registered certifier—

the registration number of the certifier, and

if the certifier is a registered body corporate—the registration number of the individual who issued the certificate,

the signature of the individual who issued the certificate,

a description of the development,

the registered number and date of issue of a relevant development consent,

the address and folio identifier of the land,

the date of the certificate,

a description of work that was inspected, how the work was inspected and the date and time at which the work was inspected,

a statement of the matters in relation to which the certificate is issued.

A certifier must not issue a compliance certificate unless the certificate is accompanied by the documents referred to in the certificate that are relevant to the matters in relation to which the certificate is issued.

Maximum penalty (subsections (1) and (2))—

for a corporation—300 penalty units, or

for an individual—150 penalty units.

Within 2 days after issuing an occupation certificate, a certifier must give a copy of each compliance certificate relied on to issue the occupation certificate to—

the consent authority, and

if the consent authority is not the council—the council.

Maximum penalty—

for a corporation—300 penalty units, or

for an individual—150 penalty units.

A certifier must not issue a compliance certificate of the kind referred to in the Act, section 6.4(e)(i) or (ii) for building work or subdivision work unless the required development consent is in force for the building or subdivision to which the work relates.

Maximum penalty—

for a corporation—300 penalty units, or

for an individual—150 penalty units.

An application for a construction certificate must—

be in the approved form, and

include all the information and documents specified in the approved form or required by the Act or this Regulation, and

be lodged on the NSW planning portal.

The application may only be made by a person who is eligible to appoint a principal certifier for the development.

The certifier for the development must notify the applicant through the NSW planning portal that the application has been lodged.

Maximum penalty (subsection (3))—

for a corporation—150 penalty units, or

for an individual—75 penalty units.

This section applies to an application for a construction certificate for development that involves building work.

The application must be accompanied by—

a detailed description of the development, and

appropriate building work plans and specifications (referred to in this Part as relevant building work plans and specifications).

The detailed description of the development must indicate the following matters—

for each proposed new building—

the number of storeys in the building, including underground storeys, and

the gross floor area of the building in square metres, and

the site area of the land on which the building is to be erected in square metres,

for each proposed new building to be used for residential accommodation—

the number of existing dwellings on the land on which the new building will be erected, and

the number of existing dwellings that will be demolished in connection with the erection of the new building, and

the number of dwellings to be included in the new building, and

whether the new building will be attached to an existing building, and

whether the new building will be attached to another new building, and

whether the building will include a dual occupancy, and

the materials to be used in the construction of the new building, using the abbreviations set out in the Table to this section.

The appropriate building work plans and specifications must include the following—

detailed building work plans, drawn to a suitable scale and consisting of a block plan and a general plan, that show the following—

a plan of each floor section,

a plan of each elevation of the building,

the levels of the lowest floor, an unbuilt yard or area that belongs to the lowest floor and the adjacent ground,

the height, design, construction and provision for fire safety and fire resistance, if any,

building work specifications that—

describe the construction and the materials to be used to construct the building, and

describe the method of drainage, sewerage and water supply, and

state whether the materials to be used are new or second-hand and contain details of any second-hand materials to be used,

a description of an accredited building product or system sought to be relied on for the purposes of the Act, section 4.15(4),

a copy of a compliance certificate to be relied on,

if the development involves building work to alter, expand or rebuild an existing building—a scaled plan of the existing building,

for BASIX development, or for BASIX optional development if the development application was accompanied by a BASIX certificate—the other matters required by the relevant BASIX certificate.

Table

Walls

Code

Roof

Code

Floor

Code

Frame

Code

Brick (double)

11

Tiles

10

Concrete or slate

20

Timber

40

Brick (veneer)

12

Concrete or slate

20

Timber

40

Steel

60

Concrete or stone

20

Fibre cement

30

Other

80

Aluminium

70

Fibre cement

30

Steel

60

Not specified

90

Other

80

Timber

40

Aluminium

70

Not specified

90

Curtain glass

50

Other

80

Steel

60

Not specified

90

Aluminium

70

Other

80

Not specified

90

An application for a construction certificate for building work that does not relate to a dwelling house, or to a building or structure that is ancillary to a dwelling house, must be accompanied by—

a list of the existing fire safety measures provided in relation to the land or an existing building on the land, and

a list of the proposed fire safety measures to be provided in relation to the land and buildings on the land as a consequence of the building work.

An application for a construction certificate for fire alarm communication link works must be accompanied by—

a plan that indicates the location of the new fire alarm communication link and associated works, and

a document that describes the design, construction and mode of operation of the new fire alarm communication link and associated works.

An application for a construction certificate for an alteration to a hydraulic fire safety system must be accompanied by—

a plan that indicates the location of the alteration and associated works, and

a document that describes—

the required pressure and flow characteristics of the hydraulic fire safety system that will be altered, and

the pressure and flow characteristics that will be available from the town main following mains pressure reduction by or on behalf of the relevant water utility, and

the design, construction and performance of the alteration and associated works.

In this section—

fire alarm communication link means the part of a fire alarm system that transmits a fire alarm signal from the system to an alarm monitoring network.

fire alarm communication link works means the installation or conversion of a fire alarm communication link to connect with the fire alarm monitoring network of a private service provider, but does not include works associated with the alteration of or change of building use for an existing building.

private service provider means a person or body that has entered into an agreement with Fire and Rescue NSW to monitor fire alarm systems.

This section applies to an application for a construction certificate for—

BASIX development, and

BASIX optional development, if the development application was accompanied by a BASIX certificate.

The application must be accompanied by—

a BASIX certificate that applied to the development when the development consent was granted, or

another BASIX certificate issued no earlier than 3 months before the application is made.

The application for a construction certificate must also be accompanied by the other documents required by the BASIX certificate.

If the development involves the alteration of a BASIX building that contains more than 1 dwelling, the application must be accompanied by a separate BASIX certificate for each dwelling.

This section applies to an application for a construction certificate for non-residential development under State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022.

The application must disclose the amount of embodied emissions attributable to the development.

The amount disclosed under subsection (2) must be determined using—

the form published on the NSW planning portal as in force from time to time, and

an itemised list of building materials for the development prepared by a quantity surveyor.

Example—

a bill of materials or bill of quantities

The amount disclosed under subsection (2) must be certified by—

a quantity surveyor, or

a qualified designer, or

an engineer, or

an assessor accredited under NABERS.

This section applies to an application for a construction certificate for large commercial development.

The application must be accompanied by reports about the standards for energy and water use achieved by the development, taking into account the standards specified in State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022, Schedule 3.

The report for energy use must be in the form of a report under Section J of the Building Code of Australia.

The report for energy use may also—

refer to a performance-based design solution under Section J of the Building Code of Australia, or

incorporate a review by a member of an independent review panel under NABERS.

The report for water use may be in the form of annotated drawings and specifications.

Subsection (2), to the extent it relates to energy use, and subsections (3) and (4) do not apply to large commercial development on land to which the following local environmental plans apply—

Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012,

Sydney Local Environmental Plan (Green Square Town Centre) 2013,

Sydney Local Environmental Plan (Green Square Town Centre—Stage 2) 2013.

Despite subsection (6), subsections (2)–(4) apply to large commercial development to the extent that the development relates to prescribed serviced apartments.

In this section—

large commercial development and prescribed serviced apartments have the same meaning as in State Environmental Planning Policy (Sustainable Buildings) 2022.