Building Act 1975

This Act may be cited as the Building Act 1975.

This Act binds all persons, including the State, and, as far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the Commonwealth and the other States.

Nothing in this Act makes the State liable to be prosecuted for an offence.

Chapter 2 provides for what building work is assessable development or accepted development for the Planning Act.

Chapter 3 imposes requirements, in addition to those under the Planning Act, for making a building development application.

Chapter 4—

provides for the laws and other documents for the assessment of building development applications; and

provides for who is responsible for carrying out building assessment work for building development applications; and

regulates the assessment and approval of building development applications.

Chapter 5—

provides for the giving of final inspection certificates and other inspection documentation for particular buildings; and

provides for the giving of certificates of occupancy for other buildings; and

regulates the making of BCA classification or use changes; and

restricts the occupation and use of particular buildings.

Chapter 6—

regulates private certifiers and other building certifiers and the performance of building and private certifying functions; and

regulates the engagement of private certifiers; and

provides for the licensing of, and complaints, investigations, and disciplinary proceedings against, private certifiers and other building certifiers.

Chapter 7 makes provisions about fire safety for budget accommodation buildings.

Chapter 7A makes provision about fire safety for particular residential care buildings.

Chapter 8 provides for matters about swimming pool safety, including the regulation of swimming pool fencing.

Chapter 8A regulates the effect of particular instruments in relation to stated matters for class 1a, 2 or 10a buildings.

Chapter 8B provides for the designation of land as a transport noise corridor for particular building assessment work.

Chapter 9 provides for the giving of show cause and enforcement notices for particular building work.

Note—The QBCC Act also provides for enforcement action relating to building work.

The dictionary in schedule 2 defines particular words used in this Act.

Building work is—

building, repairing, altering, underpinning (whether by vertical or lateral support), moving or demolishing a building or other structure; or

excavating or filling—

for, or incidental to, the activities mentioned in paragraph (a); or

that may adversely affect the stability of a building or other structure, whether on the land on which the building or other structure is situated or on adjoining land; or

supporting, whether vertically or laterally, land for activities mentioned in paragraph (a); or

other work regulated under the building assessment provisions.

For subsection (1)(d), work includes a management procedure or other activity relating to a building or structure even though the activity does not involve a structural change to the building or structure.

Examples—

• a management procedure under the fire safety standard relating to a budget accommodation building

• a management procedure under the fire safety standard (RCB) relating to a residential care building

A building development application is—

a development application for a development approval—

if the local government is the assessment manager for the application—to the extent the application is for building work that, under the Planning Act, must be assessed against the building assessment provisions; andNote—For the functions of a local government in relation to building development applications, see section 51.

if a private certifier is the assessment manager for the application—for building work; or

a change application, other than a minor change application, to change a development approval—

if the development approval approves building work—in relation to the building work; or

otherwise—to approve building work.

However, if a local government is the responsible entity for a change application, the application is a building development application only to the extent the building work mentioned in subsection (1)(b)(i) or (ii) must, under the Planning Act, be assessed against the building assessment provisions.

In this section—minor change application means a change application for a minor change to a development approval, as defined in the Planning Act.

Building assessment work is the assessment, under the building assessment provisions, of a building development application for compliance with those provisions.

A building certifier is an individual who, under chapter 6, part 3, is licensed as a building certifier.

A reference to building certifier includes a reference to a private certifier.

In chapter 6, the term also includes a reference to a former building certifier.

A private certifier is a building certifier whose licence has, under section 160, private certification endorsement.

A private certifier (class A) is a private certifier whose licence has development approval endorsement.

A private certifier (class B) is a private certifier whose licence does not have development approval endorsement.

A building certifying function is doing any of the following—

carrying out building assessment work, other than a part of building assessment work that, under section 46, a referral agency may carry out;

the giving of a certificate (a compliance certificate) in the approved form that, other than for aspects of building assessment work that under section 46 must be assessed by a referral agency, states building work complies with the building assessment provisions;

for a building development approval—inspecting the building work to decide whether to certify the work;

for building work for a single detached class 1a building or a class 10 building or structure, the giving of—

a certificate in the approved form for the stage of the building work that is after excavation of foundation material and before the footings for the building are laid; and

a certificate (a final inspection certificate) in the approved form for the final stage of the building work;

the giving of a certificate of occupancy for a building or structure of another class.

Generally, the assessment manager for a building development application is the assessment manager for the application under the Planning Act, section 48(1).

However, if under section 48 a private certifier (class A) is performing functions for the application, the certifier is the assessment manager for the application.

The Building Code of Australia (or BCA) is the document called ‘National Construction Code’, volume 1 and volume 2 (including the Queensland Appendixes) published by the entity known as the Australian Building Codes Board (the board).

The reference to the document called ‘National Construction Code’ in subsection (1) includes the edition of the code as amended from time to time by amendments published by the board.