Design and Building Practitioners Act (DBP) Industry Communications Pack
The NSW Government has released a list of five things that insurance broking professionals may not know about the changes to the Design and Building Practitioners Act (DBP) that commenced on 1 July.
- Changes under the DBP apply to remedial works and existing buildings – not just new construction
These changes apply to building work for a class 2 building and a building with a class 2 part, including remedial work on an existing building. This includes construction, alterations or additions, fit-outs and repair, renovation and protective treatment.
- Read the new FAQ ‘Do these changes apply to remedial works?’ for more information on how this affects Professional Engineers, Design Practitioners and Building Practitioners conducting remedial works.
- Professional Engineers currently working on class 2 buildings must already be registered – if not, you could be penalised
Professional Engineers who are currently working on class 2 buildings or buildings with a class 2 part and who meet the eligibility criteria must already be registered by 7 July.
If they are not registered and are conducting professional engineering work unsupervised, they could be penalised $165,000 for a body corporate or $55,000 for an individual. You could also be liable to repay any money paid to you for doing that work.
- Find out more about who needs to register.
- In some cases, compliance declaration requirements apply to designs and builds of temporary structures
Some designs for temporary structures for class 2 buildings and buildings with a class 2 part involving temporary shoring and ground anchors require a design compliance declaration.
Some Design Practitioners may also need to be registered as Professional Engineers to develop these designs.
- Read our new FAQ on how this affects Professional Engineers, Design Practitioners and Building Practitioners working on temporary structures.
- Already registered? Your new obligations have commenced
Once registered, Professional Engineers and Design and Building Practitioners have new obligations to maintain their registration.
For Professional Engineers, these obligations include complying with the Code of practice, completing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and keeping records. Insurance requirements will commence from 1 July 2022.
- Find out more about how Professional Engineers can maintain your registration.
Design and Building Practitioners have new obligations relating to the Code of Practice, CPD, and record keeping. Insurance requirements will commence from 1 July 2022.
There are also new obligations for declaring and lodging designs and documents. Remember – building work on class 2 buildings cannot commence until regulated designs and compliance declarations are lodged on NSW Planning Portal.
- Find out more about maintaining your registration and new design and declaration requirements.
- The duty of care introduced by the DBP applies to all industry practitioners – even if one don’t need to register
Under the duty of care provisions, any person who carries out construction work has a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss caused by defects.
This includes industry practitioners who don’t need to register as a professional engineer or Design and Building Practitioner – such as plumbers and surveyors.
- Read our new FAQ on duty of care
You can visit the NSW Fair Trading website for the latest resources, including:
- New video explaining the application process for Professional Engineers and Design and Building Practitioners
- Answers to new questions about duty of care, insurance, remedial works, and temporary structures on our FAQs page
- Forms and templates to download to meet your new obligations for declaring and lodging designs and documents