20 July 2023
The Queensland Government's Department of Energy and Public Works has released a guideline to support the transition of amended building requirements when applying section 37 of the Building Act 1975 (the BA).
The release of the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 has identified a need for guidance for the BA and its application, as section 37 provides for transitional arrangements that apply when building assessment provisions change.
The interpretation indicates:
“Section 37(1) (a) and (b) confirms that if a building permit is issued before the change to the building assessment provisions the work can be completed under the issued permit in compliance with the previous assessment provisions.
Section 37(1) (c) confirms that if the application is lodged with a certifier before the change occurs the work can be assessed against the previous assessment provisions. When the permit is issued it will allow work to comply with the previous assessment provisions.”
The guideline gives an overview of the background, an interpretation , planning for carrying out the work and common examples of applying Section 37 of the BA.
Section 37 of the Building Act 1975
The release of the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 has identified a need to provide guidance to industry about section 37 of the BA and its application.
Section 37 of the Building Act 1975 Under the BA, section 37 provides for transitional arrangements that apply when building assessment provisions change. Section 37(2) allows a building certifier to issue a building development approval under the building assessment provisions that were in place immediately prior to an amendment (i.e. under the previous building assessment provisions) where a condition in section 37(1) is met, being:
Section 37 of the Building Act 1975 Under the BA, section 37 provides for transitional arrangements that apply when building assessment provisions change. Section 37(2) allows a building certifier to issue a building development approval under the building assessment provisions that were in place immediately prior to an amendment (i.e. under the previous building assessment provisions) where a condition in section 37(1) is met, being:
- (a) the lawful carrying out of the work starts before a building assessment provision is amended; or
- (b) the building development approval was given before a building assessment provision is amended, but the work does not start before the amendment commences; or
- (c) a building development application is made for the work before a building assessment provision is amended, but the application is not decided before the amendment commences; or
- (d) planning for carrying out the work started before a building assessment provision is amended and the building certifier for the building development approval certifies in writing that:
- (i) substantial progress was made on the design of the building, or the design was completed before the amendment; and
- (ii) the design would need to be changed to comply with the amended provision; and
- (iii) the changes needed are not minor changes, having regard to the amendment and the nature of the building work.
Major Sponsors
