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How to register as a building practitioner for work related to buildings over, beside or near a Sydney Metro train station.
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Key information
- From 3 July 2023, building practitioners will need to be registered under the Design and Building Practitioners Act to do building work related to Sydney Metro that is over, beside, or near a train station (over station enabling work).
- If you register through the Sydney Metro pathway, you will only be registered to work on over station enabling work and cannot work on or lodge documents for any other buildings regulated by the Act (class 2, 3 or 9c).
- Both individuals and body corporates can register. A body corporate cannot be a Trust or a Partnership.
What is Sydney Metro work?
Sydney Metro work is building work on a train station, depot, stabling yard or other rail infrastructure. This work is carried out in compliance with approval granted to Sydney Metro for significant state infrastructure.
Section 88B of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (the Act) establishes that Sydney Metro work is excluded from being building work.
Over station enabling work
'Over station enabling work' is building work (other than Sydney Metro work) over, beside or near a train station that is carried out in compliance with approval granted to Sydney Metro for significant state infrastructure.
Over station enabling work is captured under the Act.
However, over station enabling work is excluded from the Act if works were approved before 1 April 2022 and:
- do not exceed the highest level containing fixed systems, plant or equipment used in connection with the operation or maintenance of the train station, depot, stabling yard or other rail infrastructure (the highest level), or
- if the work carried out is for the purpose of protecting the train station, depot, stabling yard or other rail infrastructure from the impact of building work (1 level above the highest level).
Who needs to be registered?
From 3 July 2023, building works related to Sydney Metro that are over, beside, or near a train station (over station enabling works) will be required to comply with the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (the Act).
After 3 July 2023, building practitioners will need to be registered to continue working on these projects, and to declare or lodge documents in the NSW Planning Portal.
Registration for over station enabling work applies to the following classes:
- Building practitioner – general
- Building practitioner – body corporate nominee
- Building practitioner – body corporate
Body corporates
For the purposes of this scheme, a body corporate is a corporation or an incorporated association, and not an owners corporation. A body corporate cannot be a Trust or a Partnership.
A body corporate can register to declare and lodge documents in the NSW Planning Portal provided it has registered as a building practitioner – body corporate, and has a building practitioner – body corporate nominee or building practitioner – general who is registered to make building compliance declarations and lodge documents on their behalf.
Eligibility
Before you register as a building practitioner, you need to complete these mandatory Construct NSW online modules:
Visit the Construct NSW Digital Learning Platform to learn more about these and other Construct NSW courses.
Who can register?
If you want to work on over station enabling works in addition to class 2, 3, or 9c buildings, you need to be registered through the building practitioner pathway.
If you want to work on over station enabling works and are not eligible to register through the building practitioner pathway, you can still register as a building practitioner to conduct over station enabling work under the Act if:
- For a body corporate - the company is a technically assured organisation under the Technically Assured Organisation Scheme approved by Transport NSW; or
- For an individual - you are nominated by a technically assured organisation.
If you register through this Sydney Metro pathway, you will only be registered under the DBP Act to conduct over station enabling work. You cannot work on or lodge documents for any other buildings regulated under the Act (class 2, 3 or 9c).
Insurance requirements
From 1 July 2024, building practitioners must have professional indemnity insurance. This can be either an individual policy, a partnership policy or a corporate policy.
The insurance policy must provide an adequate level of indemnity. You have an ongoing obligation to assess your insurance cover to ensure it is adequate.
When selecting an insurance policy, you must consider factors including:
- your financial resources
- any risks associated with your work
- any limits of the policy and other factors outlined in the Regulation.
You may need to show us that you have assessed the adequacy of your cover. You should seek independent advice on the amount and type of cover you need.
How to register
Registration applications to carry out over station enabling work are lodged with Service NSW.
What you need
For an individual registration
To register you will need:
- photo ID
- other proof of identification
- a National Police certificate that is no older than 4 months from when you submit your application (name and date of birth check only)
- the Technically Assured Organisation (TAO) authorisation number and referee contact details
- complete and pass these two mandatory Construct NSW online learning modules:
- payment for the fee.
For a body corporate registration
To register you will need:
- photo ID
- other proof of identification
- an ASIC extract that identifies all current directors of the body corporate
- a signed and completed declaration form for each director of the body corporate, other than the applicant
- a National Police certificate for each and every director that is no older than 4 months from when you submit your application (name and date of birth check only)
- the Technically Assured Organisation (TAO) authorisation number
- the body corporate’s details including:
- contact details for each director of the body corporate
- your contact details
- payment for the fee.
Apply online
You can apply for a 1, 3, or 5 year registration.
Your application will take about 15 minutes to complete.
What happens next?
We'll assess your application
You need to wait for us to assess your application. This can take up to 28 days (unless we need more information from you).
A NSW Fair Trading officer will contact you if we need more information to make a decision.
You cannot work on a regulated building under the DBP scheme until your application has been assessed.
We'll notify you of the outcome
We will notify you about the outcome of your application in writing.
If your application is successful, we will:
- send you your certificate of registration with the registration ID
- list your details on the public register for Design and Building Practitioners.
If your application is unsuccessful, you will receive a notice outlining why your application was unsuccessful and what options are available to you.
Renew your registration
You need to renew your building practitioner registration before it expires.
When your registration is nearing its expiry date, you will receive a renewal notice. You can then renew your registration online. You must apply for a renewal on or before the expiry date of your current registration.
Make sure your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is up to date. You will need to provide evidence of your CPD to renew your registration.
Building practitioners must complete a minimum of 3 hours of CPD each year from the Construct NSW learning platform. Some building practitioners will need to complete additional CPD each year. (Note: building practitioners who do not hold a licence or certificate under the Home Building Act 1989 will need to complete 12 points of CPD each year.)
For more information, read the continuing professional development guidelines for prescribed practitioners.
What you need
To renew your registration, you will need:
- your registration number and contact details
- your renewal number (as shown on your renewal notice)
- evidence of your CPD
- payment for the fee
Note: Any change of details must be completed before your renewal application is lodged.
To restore your registration after expiry, you need to apply within three months of the expiry date.
You can use the details on your renewal form to restore your registration online for a fee.
If your registration is cancelled due to disciplinary action, we will not refund any of the fees paid.
Change the details on your registration
If you need to update the details on your existing registration, such as your name, address, phone number, company or director name, you must complete a change of details notification. This form authorises Fair Trading to amend your record, which will also be updated on the public register.
Once you have completed and signed the form, it can be lodged with supporting documents by email to [email protected].
You will be notified once your record has been updated.
Surrender your registration
You can surrender your registration at any time by using the request for surrender application form.
Once you have completed and signed the form, it can be lodged with supporting documents by email to [email protected].
You may be entitled to a partial refund of the fees paid if you hold a 3 or 5 year registration that has at least 1 year left (from the date of surrender to the date of expiry).
Automatic Mutual Recognition
Building practitioners are not eligible for Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) as there is no comparable scheme in other jurisdictions.
A building practitioner will need to register under the Design and Building Practitioner scheme to lodge designs and make a building declaration in the NSW Planning Portal.
Contact us
If you need help with your application or have a question, please call 13 32 20.
You can also contact Service NSW to ask a question, report an issue or give feedback about the application process.