When the build doesn’t match the DA: statutory modification pathways in NSW
A contract variation changes what you are paid for. A modification changes what you are legally allowed to build. Confusing the two is how a job ends up with work that no consent covers.
10 min read
Topic
Compliance
Articles and news about Compliance for Australian builders.
When the build doesn’t match the DA: statutory modification pathways in NSW
A contract variation changes what you are paid for. A modification changes what you are legally allowed to build. Confusing the two is how a job ends up with work that no consent covers.
10 min read
Choosing CPD that holds up: relevance, outcomes and the provider test
The CPD points are self-recorded, so the quality of the activity is your problem long before it is the regulator’s. Here is how to judge an activity before you pay for it, and the questions that separate a defensible record from a wasted afternoon.
12 min read
How many jobs a builder can run at once is set by supervision time, not turnover
Most builders work out how many jobs they can run by looking at turnover, head count or the size of the pipeline. The binding constraint is usually none of those. It is the number of hours of supervision you can actually put on site in a week.
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
Confined space hazards on house sites: what residential builders need to control
Most confined space training is written for industry, but the hazard turns up on ordinary house sites: a sewer pit, a rainwater tank, a service shaft. The duties do not change because the job is a dwelling.
13 min read
CPD exemptions in NSW: the narrow grounds, and how to ask properly
An exemption from the NSW builder CPD requirement is not a scheduling tool. The grounds are narrow, the request belongs at renewal, and the evidence you gather decides the outcome.
10 min read
Appointing a principal certifier in NSW: who does what
Appointing a principal certifier is a builder’s obligation, not a formality. Here is how the duties split between the certifier, the consent authority and you, and what happens when the lines blur.
11 min read
What happens to your NSW builder licence if your CPD is short at renewal
A shortfall in CPD points does not attract a fine. It stops the renewal, and the licence expires. Here is what that does to jobs in progress, contracts, insurance and supervision, and the order to fix it.
13 min read
Drone use on residential sites: CASA rules and the privacy limits builders actually face
Flying a drone over your own site feels like a site tool, but it is an aviation activity and a privacy activity at the same time. Here is how the two sets of rules interact, and where the real cost sits.
12 min read
What principal certifiers actually check at each NSW inspection
A principal certifier is not there to supervise your trades. They are there to test the work against the approved documents and the NCC, and to issue the certificates that keep the job moving. Knowing what they look at, and what makes them stop, is a commercial skill.
13 min read
Whose CPD is it? Company licences, directors and nominated supervisors
A company licence can hold the contracting entity, but it cannot hold the CPD. The obligation attaches to the individuals named on it, and each of them has to earn their own points every year.
11 min read
Responding to a rectification order from NSW Fair Trading
A rectification order is a regulator’s deadline, not a negotiation. The builders who come out of one cleanly are the ones who treat the first week as an evidence-gathering exercise, not a phone call to the homeowner.
11 min read