Streamlined Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme
On behalf of the Department of Building and Housing, Alan Parsons this week announced details of the government’s revised Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) scheme to industry audiences at the Future-Proof Building National Roadshow.
Government focus for the building sector is to lift skills and productivity, regulate building work based on the risk of the work and the competence of the practitioners and ensure good outcomes for building work across the board. Licensing is a key part of this.
The initial plan for the LBP scheme has now been streamlined and contains 7 licence classes:
- Design
- Site
- Brick & Blocklaying
- Carpentry
- External Plaster
- Roofing
- Foundations
Restricted Building Work
Being or having a supervising LBP will be necessary for those who want to complete Restricted Building Work from 1 March 2012. Restricted Building Work involves both the design and construction of structure and external cladding as well as the design of fire safety systems for houses and small to medium-sized apartment buildings.
Areas of Practice
There is now a single Design and a single Site licence-type, but those applying for these types of licence will have to nominate their “areas of practice”. Areas of practice are:
- Stand alone houses – low or medium-risk weathertight score (< 12)
- Stand alone house with a high-risk envelope design; or any other buildings with a building height of 10m or less
- Buildings 10m or greater in building height (except single household dwellings)
Site LBP's
A Site LBP knows how to manage a building project. The Site licence is a quality mark and will be promoted as such to consumers. Site LBPs will not be issuing Restricted Building Work memoranda or be able to supervise Restricted Building Work – that must be done by an LBP with a license for that specific area of expertise.
The application process to become a Design LBP requires the submission of a portfolio of work and a face-to-face assessment. Both this and the Site LBP application are measured based on competency, assessing current skills and experience.
