Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme
The LBP scheme aims to ensure that people in the building industry who are responsible for the building work done are competent and accountable, so that homes and buildings are designed and built right the first time.
The LBP scheme is one of the changes in the Building Act 2004 to encourage better building design and construction.
From 1 March 2012 critical building work that is known as Restricted Building Work, must be done by an LBP (Licensed Building Practitioner).
What are LBPs?
This scheme sets out a regulated process where skilled and/or qualified building practitioners are required to demonstrate their ability to meet industry consulted competencies in order to obtain the status of being a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP). The scheme has seven license classes:
- Designers
- Carpenters
- External Plasterers
- Bricklayers and Blocklayers
- Foundation specialist
- Roofers
- Site (These are on-site supervisors or managers)
Registered Architects and Plumbers as well as Chartered Professional Engineers are also deemed to be licensed.
Why use an LBP
Licensed building practitioners (LBPs) have undergone a robust application process, including a written application, verbal testing by proficient assessors, and referees’ confirmation of their work. They keep up with the changing industry and undergo continuous skills maintenance.
The Licensed Building Practitioner logo confirms for consumers that the building practitioners they are engaging have been assessed as technically competent in their licensed field.
To retain their licence, an LBP is also to provide the Department with a record of training and activities such as reading industry publications or attending seminars they have undertaken as a means to ensure that their knowledge of their trade stays current in order to retain their licence.
From 1 March 2012 changes to the Building Act 2004 mean that building work (including design work) that relates to either the structure (load-bearing walls; foundations etc) or moisture penetration (roofs; cladding etc) of homes including small to medium sized apartments will be classified as ‘Restricted Building Work’ (RBW).
Restricted Building work, which also includes the design of fire safety systems for small to medium apartments, is deemed to be building work critical to the integrity of a building and therefore required to be carried out by competent, appropriately licensed building practitioners.
From 1 March 2012 it is an offense for an unlicensed person to carry out or supervise restricted building work and it is an offence to knowingly engage an unlicensed person to carry out or supervise restricted building work unless they have obtained an owner builder exemption from their building consent authority (council).