The Building Professionals Board has recently provided new advice to all Councils regarding private subdivision certification in NSW. The advice was provided in the Board’s March 2017 e-news.
Since 1998 the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and the Building Professionals Act has enabled suitable experienced and accredited subdivision certifiers to issue construction certificates (design assessment), compliance certificates (works inspections) and subdivision certificates (where permitted by an environmental planning instrument) for all subdivision works including infrastructure that is to be dedicated to Council on completion.
However, some Councils have acted in manner that has effectively locked the provision of private subdivision certification services out of their Local Government Areas and made the private certification process for subdivisions in NSW ineffective and dysfunctional. This has been achieved through the provision of misinformation to Developers and the placement of conditions of consent that state only Council can certify subdivision infrastructure works that are to be dedicated to Council on completion.
This has resulted in unnecessary red tape and delays to the delivery of completed subdivisions and has increased the costs of housing provision in NSW.
As one of the leading providers of private subdivision certification services in NSW we have provided input into Michael Lambert’s White Paper on certification reform in NSW and have been actively lobbying the Department of Planning and the Building Professionals Board with respect to having these issues acknowledged and rectified.
We welcome the advice provided by the Building Professionals Board. The advice essentially confirms that private subdivision certifiers can be used to issue both construction certificates and compliance certificates throughout NSW for your subdivision developments, and that the issue of the subdivision certificate cannot be jeopardised because the development was privately certified. The advice also details that any actions by Council’s to dissuade applicants from using private certifiers, through incorrect advice or the imposition of development consent conditions would not be consistent with the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
If you have any queries about how we can assist with the provision of private subdivision certification services for your project throughout NSW, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 02 9659 0005.
