Structural engineer certificates: what builders should get in writing
An engineer’s certificate is only useful if it describes the work that is actually in the ground and on the frame, and the builder is the one who has to make that match.
11 min read
Topic
Certification
Articles and news about Certification for Australian builders.
Structural engineer certificates: what builders should get in writing
An engineer’s certificate is only useful if it describes the work that is actually in the ground and on the frame, and the builder is the one who has to make that match.
11 min read
Complying development certificates: what NSW builders must check
A complying development certificate lets work start without a full development application, but it is a set of conditions the builder has to meet. Here is the builder’s side of it.
11 min read
Occupation certificates in NSW: what builders need to have ready for the final inspection
The occupation certificate is the last step in the approval process and often the first thing a client and their lender ask for. Delays usually come from missing paperwork, not failed work. Here is what the certifier needs and how to be ready.
7 min read
Product substitution: what builders must check before swapping a specified product
Lead times and prices push builders to swap specified products every week. Most swaps are fine. The ones that are not become defects, failed inspections and disputes. Here is what to check before you substitute.
7 min read
CCEWs for like-for-like swaps: Building Commission NSW clarifies when electricians must certify
A new advisory note from Building Commission NSW confirms that swapping a hot water system, oven, cooktop or power point like-for-like still needs a certificate of compliance for electrical work, lodged within 7 days of finishing.
6 min read
The Design and Building Practitioners Act in NSW: what it covers, what is deferred, and what is next
The Design and Building Practitioners Act reshaped how apartment buildings are designed and built in NSW. What it requires, which parts were deferred in 2026, and how it fits with the reforms passed this month.
7 min read
Nearly 1,400 Victorian pool fences under review after inspector banned
The BPC has asked councils to review pool barriers certified by an inspector it has banned for three years. What happened, what pool owners and builders should check, and the common barrier faults that put children at risk.
5 min read
Critical stage inspections in NSW: what gets inspected on a house, when, and how not to fail
Footings, slab, frame, wet areas, stormwater and final: the inspections a NSW house must pass before it can be occupied. What the certifier looks at, and the preparation that gets you through first time.
8 min read
Lodging DBP declarations without holding up handover
A declaration is only as good as the documents behind it. Build the lodgement pipeline early, reconcile it against the regulated design, and handover stops being a race against the portal.
11 min read
NSW passes building approvals overhaul and Australia’s first laws for prefabricated homes
NSW Parliament has passed reforms that bring building approvals under one piece of legislation, recognise prefabricated buildings in law for the first time in Australia, and hit certifier conflicts of interest with fines up to $1.1 million.
6 min read
Infrastructure charges and development costs: the cost layer builders miss
Infrastructure charges and other development costs attach to a project before anyone orders a trade, but they often sit outside the building contract and the estimating spreadsheet. Treat them as a cost layer to price at feasibility, not a surprise at construction certificate.
12 min read
Working with conditions on your NSW construction certificate
A construction certificate is only half the approval. The conditions attached to it are the part that gets audited on site, and they are the part most often lost between the approval file and the trades.
12 min read