Welcome to our first blog in the series – An Overview of the Building Process in WA! Over the coming months we will be posting a series of blogs to help assist everyday West Australians navigate the ever-changing and often-complex building approvals process with plenty of tips and advice from our expert access consultants and building surveyors along the way.
Before getting too far into the processes of permits and certificates of compliance we must have a greater understanding of the legislation and applicable building standards that apply to building work in Western Australia.
On the 2nd April 2012, the Building Act 2011 (often referred to as “the new building act”) was enacted and therefore receiving royal assent. The Building Act 2011 brought a whole new system to the building approval process including the introduction of “private certification” in Western Australia. In addition to the Building Act 2011, the subordinate legislation was adopted as the Building Regulations 2012. These two pieces of legislation provide the framework for the approvals process and delegate the applicable building standards – often regarded as the technical requirements of the building & construction industry.
There are other acts of parliament that form the building framework such as the Building Services Acts and Dividing Fences Act, however, we will be focusing on these two pieces of legislation that cover the building “Approvals” process.
For more information on the Building Act 2011 & Building Regulations 2012 and other Acts in the building framework you can refer to the Building & Energy website.
Section 37 of the Building Act 2011 states “The person who is named as the builder on a building permit must ensure, on completion of the building or incidental structure to which the permit applies, that the building or incidental structure complies with each applicable building standard.” and “Each owner of a building or an incidental structure in respect of which building work is done without a building permit being in effect for the building work must ensure, on completion of the building or incidental structure, that the building or incidental structure complies with each applicable building standard”.
This means that where a Building Permit is required, the builder is responsible for ensuring the building or incidental structure complies with the applicable building standards and where the building or incidental structure is exempt from a Building Permit, the owner of the building or incidental structure is still responsible for ensuring compliance with the applicable building standards. It is a common misconception that if a Building Permit is not required, the building does not need to comply with technical provisions of the applicable building standards which is not the case.
Part 4 of the Building Regulations 2012 provides all the guidance on what applicable building standard applies in various different building works or occupancy scenarios. Generally regarding as the technical provisions of the building legislation, the applicable building standard refers to different editions of the Building Code of Australia (also known as the National Construction Code).
For more information on what edition of the Code applies, you can refer to this table on the Building & Energy website or contact one of our Approvals Consultants & Building Surveyors.
For more information on the Building Code of Australia and the National Construction Code Series, please keep up to date on our website for future blogs or contact one of our Approvals Consultants or Building Surveyors today!