The Building Professionals Board (BPB) has reported the findings from its 2019 audit of building certifiers.
The Board, a unit of NSW Fair Trading, conducted the audit to promote compliance with regulatory requirements; identify areas of practice that require attention; capture data to inform industry education programs; and to improve practices and procedures.
The BPB said its audit found that in some cases the certifying authority had failed to ensure that a builder had the appropriate licence.
It also found examples where a construction certificate (CC) had been issued where there was a significant discrepancy in the development’s estimated cost on the CC application form and the home warranty insurance certificate.
It said its audit found regulatory breaches relating to fire safety where the certifying authority had included a fire safety schedule with the CC where the schedule failed to comply with the EP&A Regulation and had accepted final fire safety certificates containing additional measures not detailed in the fire safety schedule for the development.
The Board found that in some cases the certifying authority had issued a CC or complying development certificate where endorsed drawings did not show any fire safety measures.
The BPB said its audit had also found breaches related to missing documentation, building plan specifications and record keeping.
It said its Audit program was ongoing and that updates would continue to be released as it progressed.
