AGY-5379 | Building Professionals Board

Full description

The Building Professionals Board was constituted under the provisions of the Building Professionals Act 2005 as a statutory body representing the Crown. The Act received assent on 7 December 2005, was proclaimed on 25 January 2007, and fully commenced on 1 March 2007. It established the Board as an independent statutory body, reporting to the Minister for Planning, and being responsible for accrediting all accredited certifiers, investigating any complaints against them, conducting audits of accredited certifiers and councils, and improving professional practice through education and training. (1)

The Board was to consist of at least three members, but not more than eight, appointed by the Minister, with knowledge or experience relevant to one or more of the following:
a. building and construction law or administrative law
b. the building and subdivision certification process under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
c. the building industry
d. government administration
e. local government development assessment processes
f. consumer protection. Of the members appointed to the Board, one was to be appointed as President of the Board, and another as Deputy President of the Board, with the Board responsible for the following functions:
a. the accreditation of persons as certifiers for the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
b. the promotion and maintenance of standards of building and subdivision certification in NSW
c. the investigation of complaints against accredited certifiers
d. the taking of disciplinary action against accredited certifiers
e. the investigation of certifying authorities
f. the prosecution of offences against this Act or the regulations, or any offence under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 or the regulations under that Act that relates to accredited certifiers or certifying authorities
g. the review of the accreditation scheme under the Act
h. the investigation of matters referred to it by the Minister for advice, and reports in relation to accredited certifiers and the accreditation of certifiers
i. the provision of advice to the Minister with respect to any other matter in connection with the administration of this Act
j. such other functions as are conferred or imposed on the Board by or under this Act or any other Act. (2)

On 26 January 2007 the Minister for Planning appointed four members to the Building Professionals Board, consisting of Mr John Murray AM, President, Associate Professor Graham Miller, Deputy President, Ms Christine Paull, and Mr Geoffrey Douglass. Mr John Murray had 15 years experience as a former CEO of the Master Builders’ Association of Australia, plus experience as a solicitor and a representative of the Australian building industry on industry consultative committees within Australia and overseas. He was a professional company director, industry policy consultant and an accredited adjudicator. Mr Graham Miller was Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Western Sydney, and had also held Board member positions with the Australian Institute of Building and other committees. Ms Christine Paull was a Senior Member of the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal, had an extensive legal background, and had published a book informing consumers and builders of their rights and obligations under the Home Building Act and other relevant laws. Mr Geoffrey Douglass was the Development and Building Coordinator at Newcastle City Council, and had 15 years experience as a building surveyor in local government. (3) Prior to 1 March 2007 the Building Professionals Branch in the Department of Planning accredited building surveyors and related professionals under the Building Surveyors and Allied Professions (BSAP) accreditation scheme to issue certificates for development under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). The Branch also investigated complaints against BSAP certifiers and auditied accredited certifiers and local councils in their certification role. There were also three other bodies that could accredit certifiers and process complaints against the certifiers they accredited - Engineers Australia, the Planning Institute of Australia, and the Professional Surveyors' Occupational Association. (4) The role of the Building Professionals Board was to accredit certifiers to issue construction, occupation, subdivision, strata, compliance and complying development certificates under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act), Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973, and Strata Schemes (Leasehold Development) Act 1986. The Board also investigated complaints against accredited certifiers and audited accredited certifiers and councils in their certification role. (5)

The Building Professionals Board was abolished on 1 July 2020 when the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 (Act No.63, 2018) repealed the Building Professionals Act 2005. (6)

Endnotes
1. For Certifiers - Building Professionals Board web site www.bpb.nsw.gov.au/about/index.shtml (accessed 24 August 2007); NSW Government Gazette (No.16), 25 January 2007, p.305.
2. Building Professionals Act 2005, (Act No.115, 2005), Part 7, ss.75-77 in Statutes of NSW, Vol.2, pp.42-43.
3. News - Building Professionals Board web site, www.bpb.nsw.gov.au/news/index.shtml, (accessed 24 August 2007).
4. For Certifiers - Building Professionals Board web site www.bpb.nsw.gov.au/about/index.shtml (accessed 24 August 2007).
5. Building Professionals Board web site, www.bpb.nsw.gov.au/index.shtml (accessed 24 August 2007).
6. Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 (Act No.63, 2018), Schedule 1 Part 2 clause 8.