Licensing Update: Issue 5
Welcome…
Welcome to the fifth issue of the Department of Building and Housing’s Licensing Update, keeping you up to date on developments in the Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme.
Feedback from the issues so far has been excellent, and we really appreciate the questions you are raising. Please keep them coming. They help us with our communication on the Scheme and with its design and implementation.
In this issue we cover:
- New licensing publications
- Key improvements to the Scheme
- The Scheme’s fees
- What happens next?
- More of your questions and answers.
New licensing publications
Is Licensing for Me?
The Department has just released Is Licensing for Me?, a 32 page booklet. This booklet covers which licence classes you can apply for, how to apply, how you will be assessed and much more.
It should help you decide whether you should apply to be licensed, and if so, in which licence class.
You can get a copy of this online or from your local trade supplier, your industry group if you belong to one, or from any territorial authority in the coming weeks.
If you are thinking of applying for a Design 1, 2 or 3, or a Site 1 licence, you will also need to read the Understanding the Building Categories booklet that is included in Is Licensing for Me?
Licensed Building Practitioners Rules 2007
Recently, the full Licensed Building Practitioners Rules 2007 were also published online. These lay out in detail exactly what competencies applicants for each of the licence classes have to know and be able to do. The Rules are the in-depth formal statement of the competencies required for the Scheme, and they are explained in brief in Is Licensing for Me?
When these Rules were being drafted, an extensive consultation took place with the building industry. The report on the feedback is also available.
Key improvements to the Scheme
Recently the Building Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill contains amendments intended to improve the workability of the Building Act 2004. For people involved in the Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme, the key changes revolve around certification and the date for commencement of restricted building work.
Certification and Liability
There has been some concern that the requirement for licensed building practitioners to certify that their work complies with a building consent could unintentionally increase the liability of individuals in the event of building failure. The intention of the Act was to make Licensed Building Practitioners accountable to the Building Practitioners Board for their work, not increase any liability they have.
Instead of certifying, licensed building practitioners will now provide a memorandum that identifies what restricted building work they have done. To assist consumers, building consent authorities will be required to keep copies of these memoranda so licensed building practitioners who worked on a project (and the work they did) can be readily identified in the event of any building failure.
Changing dates
Currently, the restricted building work provisions in the Act come into force on 30 November 2009. The Bill proposes to change this date to 30 November 2010 to allow all the licensing classes to be open for application well before the use of licensed building practitioners for restricted building work becomes mandatory.
Restricted Building Work
The Amendment Bill also makes changes to the wording around ‘restricted building work’. The new term ‘significant building project’ will be introduced to provide a threshold of types of building project where the risk of failure is significant enough to warrant mandatory use of a licensed practitioner.
This new term does not in any way change how ‘restricted building work’ will be defined. The department is still working on this and will carry out further consultation with stakeholders such as the building industry and design professionals before any decisions are made on what restricted work will be.
The Scheme’s fees
The fees for the Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme have recently been finalised and are summarised in the table below. All the totals are inclusive of GST.
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Licence class
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Fees (incl. GST)
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Fees (incl. GST)
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One-off application and Assessment fee
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One-off face-to-face assessment if required *
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Design 1
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$840
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Design 2
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$955
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Design 3
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$1,070
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Site 1
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$355
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$470
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Site 2
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$385
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$485
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Site 3
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$395
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$500
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Carpentry
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$355
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$470
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Carpentry & Site 1 combined application
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$410
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$470
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Annual fee per practitioner
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$170
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* All Design licence class applicants will be assessed through a face-to-face assessment, including discussing a portfolio of work. This cost is built into the application and assessment fee.
Carpentry and Site applicants may be required to take part in a face-to-face assessment if the evidence provided in their written application does not demonstrate that their skills and experience meet the relevant licence class standard(s). This will require the additional fee as noted in the right-hand column.
A face-to-face meeting with the assessor will help them make a decision whether you have the required skills and experience and can meet the relevant licence class standards.
The combined Carpentry and Site 1 fee covers people who wish to apply for both of these licence classes together. There will be an application pack specifically for this combination.
The annual fee of $170 includes the cost of issuing a new licence card each year, maintaining the register and providing continued licensing services.
What happens next?
Licensing is fast approaching and if you are considering applying, there will be a large amount of information to read.
If you haven’t read Is Licensing for Me? already, then you should do so. This will help you decide whether to be licensed and, if so, which licence class to apply for.
Once you have made this decision, you can contact the Department (email: licensing@dbh.govt.nz, phone 0800 60 60 50) to request the appropriate licence application pack. Packs will be available from mid October from the Department, the Department’s regional offices in Auckland, Manukau, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch, or from your industry group.
For those who wish to apply, there are a few details to note about the packs. Each pack will contain a general application form (to verify your general details, including requesting a photo and your contact details), and then a specific application form for the licence class(es) you are applying for. This form will ask for your work history and details about some of your projects. There will also be a booklet explaining the regulatory environment in the packs.
You will need to fill out the forms, gather your evidence and send this back to the Department. Processing of applications will begin from 1 November.
Questions and answers
The following are summaries of questions that we received recently. We hope our answers are useful and we welcome further questions.
Q. Will employees of Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) be able to be licensed? For example, a person processing building consents or inspecting design or building work?
A. Yes – employees of Building Consent Authorities can apply to be licensed. However, they will need to show the same relevant work and industry experience that other applicants will have to provide to be licensed. Also, to remain licensed in the future all practitioners will need to show that they are still working in the industry and have current knowledge.
Q. I would like some information regarding licensing requirements for project/ site management in New Zealand. What specific learning qualifications are needed, if experience prior to registering counts towards, and what dates I must be licensed by to continue in my position as Site manager?
A. To answer your questions in brief:
- Qualifications will not initially be a prerequisite for being licensed – licensing will be based on your skills and experience (your career in the industry). If you have a qualification it will be good supporting evidence for your application but it is not enough on its own.
- Licensing is voluntary so you will be able to carry on working as you are now. However, when restricted work requirements come in in 2010, certain work will need to be done or supervised by a licensed building practitioner. Application forms for the Site 1, 2 and 3, Design 1, 2 and 3 and Carpentry licence classes will be available from mid October this year.
- We recommend you read Is Licensing for Me? to help you decide whether to apply to be licensed. Additionally, you can read the detailed standards for each of the site licence classes in the Licensed Building Practitioners Rules 2007
Q. Can you please advise me of the licensing requirements to carry out construction works (shopfitting) in New Zealand. We are a shopfitting company currently operating in Australia and have been approached to tender for several shop fitouts in your country.
The information I require is licensing and insurance requirements.
A. Shopfitting does not fit into the licensing scheme unless you are doing structural work such as major alterations. Even then a licensed person will not be required to do this work until restricted building work is introduced.
Licensing at first is only available to builders, carpenters, site supervisors and designers. However more licence classes will be added from 2008 and include brick and block laying, roofing and external plastering among others. More details of these are available on the Departments website at www.dbh.govt.nz/occupational-licensing.
Insurance requirements are a business decision for any company or organisation and do not form part of the licensing requirements.
Q. Currently the majority of skylights are installed by builders (approx. 60%) and roofers (approx. 20%), with the balance being installed by approved installers, usually into existing buildings. We believe that it is not necessary to be a LBP to install a skylight – what are your views on this?
A. Currently the Carpentry licence class standard includes the installation of ‘roof lights’ under Competency 4: ‘Carry out carpentry work’.
In 2008 another six licence classes will be developed, and one of these will be specifically for roofing. When restricted building work is defined, only people who have the correct licence will be able to carry out or supervise that restricted building work.
It is too early to state what exactly restricted building work for roofing will include. However the Department will be consulting with the industry before any decisions are made on what will be restricted building work.
Q. I’m currently doing my carpentry apprenticeship and was wondering how licensing will affect me when I qualify. Do I automatically achieve a licence, or do I have to apply for one as all other builders do? If so, how would the quality of my work be inspected if I have been working only as an apprentice?
A. Under the Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme, no one will be automatically licensed on the basis of a qualification. You will need to apply and provide evidence of your skills, knowledge and experience. Clearly, completion of an apprenticeship, or any other relevant qualification is very good evidence of your knowledge. You should complete your apprenticeship as once you are licensed; there is an emphasis on ongoing learning. It is also anticipated that licence classes will become more aligned with formal qualifications in the future.
You will also need to be able to demonstrate sound industry experience in your application. However, you will be able to show the work you have done during your apprenticeship in your work history and your project records.
The Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme is based strongly on practical skills, knowledge and experience – that is, evidence that you consistently do competent work. The application forms will ask for two types of information:
- Essential evidence, which you must supply and
- Supporting evidence, which is optional but will support your application.
The essential evidence is:
- your work history (like a CV) showing your jobs and responsibilities in the industry to date
- selected projects that demonstrate your competence and show the type of work you do
- contact details or referee reports for clients and technical referees who can confirm your competence in the projects you have selected.
Supporting evidence includes:
- relevant qualifications you have completed
- industry organisations you belong to
- industry events/learning activities you have attended.