Licensing frequently asked questions

The Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) Scheme

1. What is the LBP Scheme?
2. Why was licensing introduced?
3. Who administers licensing?
4. How does licensing benefit building practitioners?
5. How does licensing benefit consumers?
6. Will consumers have options for resolving disputes?
7. Is licensing compulsory?
8. How many people will be licensed?
9. Will licensing add to building costs and, if so, to what extent?
10. Isn’t licensing just more bureaucracy?
11. Are there any similar licensing schemes in New Zealand?
12. Why is licensing taking so long to implement?
13. Do licensed building practitioners need professional indemnity insurance?
14. How will licensed building practitioners sign off on their jobs?
15. Why should I bother to apply to be licensed?
16. Why should I apply now – why don’t I wait until 2012 when restricted building work comes in?
17. I’m already licensed. Why should I renew?
18. When does the licensing system for building practitioners start?
19. Why are some of the licensing classes being phased in?
20. Will licensing put up construction costs?

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Becoming licensed

1. How do I get to be licensed?
2. Do I have to have a qualification to be licensed?
3. Will individuals or companies be licensed?
4. What about registered architects and chartered professional engineers?
5. Will I have to reapply each year?
6. What happens if my application is denied?
7. I'm a member of Master Builders/Certified Builders - must I still apply to be licensed?
8. What if I qualified overseas?
9. How does a tradesperson become licensed?
10. Does a tradesperson have to be qualified to become licensed?
11. How much does it cost to become licensed?
12. Can I apply for more than one licence?

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Licence applications

Design

1. I only design parts of structure. Can I still apply for a Design licence even though I don’t design the entire structure?
2. How do I progress from one class to another, for example, from Design 1 to Design 2?
3. I have recently been contracted to design an additional classroom for a school. What level of Design class should I apply for if I am designing this work?
4. I have recently been contacted about designing a school assembly hall. What class of Design would this fit into?

Site / Carpentry

1. One of my referees is based overseas. Can I still use them when I apply to be licensed?
2. I am applying for two different classes. Can I use the same people as referees or do I have to find six different referees in total?
3. My current role involves controlling budgets and developing and managing building contracts on behalf of the building owner. Does this mean I should or can apply for a Site 3 class?
4. Does the scope of a Site 3 class include overseeing the construction of straightforward houses and smaller scale commercial building work, that is, the sorts of work that a Site 1 and Site 2 licensed person would undertake?
5. I currently do a lot of remedial and repair work; both design and build, on houses and apartments. However, the scope of work is not very wide. Can I still apply to be licensed even with this limitation?

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Licence classes

1. What are the different licence classes for building practitioners?
2. What is the role of the person holding a Design class?
3. What is the role of a person holding a Site class?
4. What do the trade classes cover?
5. What work will need to be supervised or undertaken by Trade LBPs?
6. How many licence classes can a person hold?
7. How do independent qualified persons (IQPs) fit in with licensing?

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Councils and licensing

1. Don’t councils already check that building work is being done properly?  
2. Do councils have a role in licensing?

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Restricted building work

1. What is restricted building work?
2. Why wait until 2012 for restricted building work to apply?
3. What happens between now and March 2012 in terms of restricted building work?
4. Why won’t restricted building work apply to all buildings?
5. Does the exclusion of big buildings mean people won’t need to be licensed to work on them?
6. Why isn’t all work needing a consent defined as restricted building work?
7. Will there be penalties for an unlicensed person doing restricted work?
8. Why should a building practitioner become licensed now, when restricted building work won’t apply until March 2012?
9. Won’t it simply cost them money to renew their licence annually?

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Restricted building work and Do It Yourself (DIY)

1. What work can a DIYer do, when restricted building work applies?
2. Is there any effect on DIYers between now and March 2012?
3. How will DIYers get an exemption from restricted building work requirements?
4. Why does a DIYer have to declare that they did restricted building work?
5. Is any liability attached to the exemption?
6. Would it be an offence to sign an incorrect declaration?
7. Can a DIYer employ tradespeople to help them out?
8. Can a DIYer employ family and friends?
9. Couldn’t builders pretend to be DIYers to get around licensing requirements?
10. Will a DIYer be able to get more than one exemption?
11. How will restricted building work affect a DIY landlord?
12. Will rents go up if landlords have to employ builders to do the same work they could do cheaper?

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 Streamlining

1. Why streamline the assessment process?
2. Which licence classes does the streamlined qualified practitioner application process apply to?
3. How do I apply?
4. What do I have to do to apply under the streamlined qualified practitioner application process?
5. Won't the changes water down the LBP scheme?
6. What qualifications are recognised?
7. What if I don’t have a recognised qualification?
8. Are all qualifications recognised?
9. My qualification is not included in your list of recognised qualifications for streamlining but I think it ought to be. What should I do?
10. I got my qualification a few years ago. Is it still recognised?
11. How much are the streamlined application fees?
12. Can I apply for more than one licence class under the streamlined application process?
13. Can I apply for more than one area of practice in a licence class under the streamlined application process?
14. Do I have to pay an assessment fee for each area of practice? Eg, I want to get my roofing licence in 3 areas of practice. Do I need to pay 3 times?
15. Can Design applicants use the streamlined application process?
16. Can I apply for one licence using my qualification but go through the standard process for another? Eg, I want to apply for Carpentry and Site but I only have carpentry qualifications.
17. Who can be a referee?
18. Can a family member ever be referee?
19. Can my client be a referee for me?
20. What does recent work experience mean?
21. What if I don’t have recent work experience?
22. Why do Carpentry applicants need to show experience within the last 3 years, when other applicants only need to show experience within the last 5 years?
23. How many referees do I need?
24. Why do I need referees?
25. What will the assessor ask my referees?
26. Why does my application form ask if I’m a member of an industry organisation?
27. How is the streamlined assessment process for recognised qualifications different from the standard process?
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Assesssment process

1. I’ve applied. What happens next?
2. What if I find I actually know the assessor?
3. My licence application was turned down. What can I do about it?
4. I’ve applied but changed my mind. Can I have a refund?

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Phase II overview

1. When will the single Site and single Design licences come? How will they work?
2. When do simplified building categories come? How will they work?
3. When will the new Foundations class come? How will it work?
4. What about people registered under other licensing schemes like registered plumbers and gasfitters?
5. What is restricted building work?
6. What about DIYers