Licensing in the building industry - more details revealed

Voluntary licensing in the building industry is now very close and more details of how this will work have been announced.

The licences that will be available late this year are Design, Site 1, 2 and 3, and Carpentry. Site 1, 2 and 3 cover respectively the roles of builders, site supervisors and construction managers.

If you are considering applying, you can now see in detail what you are required to know and be able to do. To do this, go to the Licensed Building Practitioners Rules 2007 on the Department of Building and Housing website.

The Rules detail how licensing will work. They include schedules that provide the minimum standards and competencies required for each licence.

For example, carpenters will need to show skills ranging from planning and scheduling their work, through to demonstrating that they can set out and construct floors, walls and roof frames, and install, finish and make weathertight exterior joinery.

Minimum standards and competencies for the other licence classes will be added in 2008. These will cover external plasterers, roofers, brick and block layers, and specialists in concrete structure, steel structure and building services.

Legislation recently introduced into Parliament will resolve concerns about individual liability. The requirement that licensed building practitioners 'certify' their work will be scrapped, because of concern that it could unintentionally create a new liability.

Instead, authorities who issue building consents, such as councils, will keep records of individual licensed building practitioners employed on each project. Knowing which licensed practitioners were involved on a particular site will allow the Building Practitioners Board to hold licensed building practitioners to account for their work if the end result is not to the expected standard.

The dates when the mandatory aspects of the Scheme apply are also being amended, so that from 30 November 2010 restricted work will need to be supervised or carried out by a licensed building practitioner. Homeowners will still be able to do DIY work as at present, including building a standard, straightforward house from scratch.

The Department of Building and Housing will soon publish a detailed guide to help individuals decide what to do. From 1 October 2007, licensing application packs will be available. The processing of applications will begin from 1 November, with the first licences likely to be issued in the New Year.

For more information on licensing, or to receive an electronic newsletter, visit www.dbh.govt.nz/occupational-licensing or call 0800 60 60 50.