Role & Responsibilities of the Building Surveyor

1 Victorian ChapterABN 53 004 540 836 GPO Box4557, MELBOURNEVic3001 Tel: (03)9415- 7600 Fax(03) 9415 and Responsibilities of Building Surveyors and Building InspectorsRole of theBuildingSurveyorThe Building control legislative scheme in Victoria comprises the Building Act 1993,the Building Regulations 2006(Regulations), the Building Code of Australia 2007(BCA)(which forms part of theRegulations) and relevant Australian Standards (asreferenced in the BCA).Public policy underpinningthis legislative scheme is to facilitate and promote thecost effective construction of buildings, the construction of environmentally andenergy efficient buildings, to enhance the amenity of buildings and to protect thesafety and health of people who use buildings and places of public Building Act 1993(Act)creates the roles of private and municipal municipal Building Surveyor is a person who is employed by a council,whereas a private Building Surveyor is a person who operates as a private entity.

2 Asbuilding owners generally havelimited knowledgeas to whether a Building designcomplies with the Act andRegulations, they are required by the legislative schemeto use the services of a Building Surveyor (either a private or municipal buildingsurveyor) for which they pay a fee determined by the private Building Surveyor or, inthe case of the municipal Building Surveyor , the relevant can beappointed by the owner or the owner s agent for a specific Building abuilding Surveyor is appointed under the Act, he/she becomes the relevant functions of abuildingsurveyoraremandated by legislation irrespective ofwhether the appointment is private or statutoryfunctionsof arelevantbuildingsurveyorareto issue Building permits,conductmandatoryinspections of buildings and Building workand issueoccupancypermits or certificate of final inspection (if an occupancy permit is not required forthat Building work).Buildingsurveyors exercise specific professional skills whenthey evaluate and assess plans and required to performtheir work in acompetent manner and to Act requiresallbuilding surveyorsandothermajordesign and constructionpractitionersto havecompulsoryprofessional liabilityinsurance cover as a pre-requisite to surveyors must have tertiary qualifications inbuilding surveying and at least four years practical experience to qualify forregistration as a Building ChapterABN 53 004 540 836 GPO Box4557, MELBOURNEVic3001 Tel: (03)9415- 7600 Fax(03) 9415 combination of experience, tertiary qualifications and professionalliabilityinsurancemeans thatthe Building surveyoris comparable to other buildingprofessionals, suchas architects and engineers.

3 The Building control legislativescheme is thus designed with the object of ensuring that Building surveyors andotherregisteredbuildingpractitioners act with a high degree of professionalism andintegrity, in order to protect the is additional legislation in Victoria which is designed toprotectthe Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995(DBCA)aims to protectconsumers when entering into a contract with a builder who is engaged to carry outdomesticbuilding the Building Act, the DBCA does not confer anyfunctions or obligations on a Building surveyors arenotresponsible for the level of workmanship, quality of Building work, product reliabilityor warranties implied under contractual arrangements between consumers surveyors areresponsible forensuringconsistency withplanningpermits, it is the responsibility of the relevantcouncil to administer and enforce thePlanningScheme applicable under the Planning and Environment terms of the actual work performed by Building surveyors,beforeissuing abuilding permit, a Building Surveyor assesses the requisite documentation that mustbe included with an application for a Building surveyors have asound knowledge of the Act.

4 Regulations andBCAandprovide regulatory advice toensure that the Building permit will substantially comply with the Building Act,Regulations ensurethatany required consent of areporting authority is obtained( fire brigade, council, water authority) andanyrelevant planning permit or other prescribed approval hasbeen obtained and isconsistent with the Building permit Building permit is required before any Building work can be commenced. Buildingwork may range from the construction of simple sheds, carports and housingadditions to large complex structuressuch as high-rise city buildings and largeshopping centres and industrial documentation will berequired with abuilding permitapplication, which will usually include the plans andspecifications prepared by architects or architectural draftspersons, and structural,services and fire safety engineering aspect ofthe role ofbuildingsurveyorsis toinspect buildings duringconstruction.

5 They conduct mandatory inspections of Building work as role of the buildingsurveyoris toinspectwhether the Building work complieswith the Act, Regulations andthe ChapterABN 53 004 540 836 GPO Box4557, MELBOURNEVic3001 Tel: (03)9415- 7600 Fax(03) 9415 surveyors may engage a Building inspector to conduct inspections on theirbehalfhowever, the Building surveyorremainsresponsible for ensuring that aninspection is properly conducted and that the Building or Building work compliesorsubstantially complieswith theregulationsand the Building currentmandatory inspections which may be applicable as per the requirements of theBuilding Regulations 2006 include foundations, in situ concrete members, frame andfinal additional inspections are buildingsurveyordoesnotperform the role ofa supervisor for a construction a Building project is complete, and following the final mandatorynotificationstage, thebuilding Surveyor must issue an occupancy permit or certificate of finalinspection (whicheverisapplicable) when the Building is deemed suitable foroccupation.

6 The issue of an occupancy permitor certificate of final inspection doesnotmean or imply that the Building workis free from defects orcomplies with theBuilding Act, Domestic Building Contracts Act, or Planning and Environment , it does mean that from that point, the Building may be occupied for thepurpose for which it was designed and summary, the functions and obligations of Building surveyors areprescribedin thebuilding control legislation. Building surveyorsplaya critical role in achieving theobjects of the legislation, especially the need for public safety and protectioninrelation to the design and construction of buildings in Victoria.