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© Copyright 2011 Teys Lawyers www.teyslawyers.com.au Public Officials and Cer@fiers – What’s Their Fair Share of the Liability? © Copyright 2011 Teys Lawyers www.teyslawyers.com.au Webinar, 1 December 2011

Public officials and certifiers whats their fair share 1 dec 11

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Page 1: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Public  Officials  and  Cer@fiers  –  What’s    Their  Fair  Share  of  the  Liability?  

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Webinar,  1  December  2011  

Page 2: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Development  Process  in  NSW  

Obtain  Occupa@on  Cer@ficate  

Appoint  a  Principal  Cer@fying  Authority  (PCA)  

Obtain  Construc@on  Cer@ficate  

Obtain  Development  Consent  (usually  with  condi@ons)  

Submit  Development  Applica@on  (DA)  

Page 3: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

About  the  PCA  •  A  PCA  is  the  only  person  who  

can  issue  interim  or  final  occupa@on  cer@ficates  

•  PCA  must  be  appointed  before  works  commence  

•  PCA  can  be  an  accredited  cer@fier,  council  or  consent  authority  

•  PCA  inspects  work  during  construc@on  and  at  comple@on  to  ensure  compliance  with  BCA  

Page 4: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Du@es  of  a  PCA  

•  PCA  should  check  builder  is  licenced    

•  PCA  should  ensure  HOW  insurance  is  in  place  

•  PCA  issues  occupa@on  cer@ficate  

Page 5: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

PCA  Mandatory  Inspec@ons  

•  Builder  must  advise  PCA  when  inspec@ons  required  

•  PCA  must  advise  builder  and  person  with  benefit  of  development  consent  of  issues  iden@fied  during  inspec@on  

•  PCA  may  require  compliance  cer@ficates  or  expert  reports  at  various  stages  

•  PCA  may  rely  on  cer@ficates  but  must  always  undertake  mandatory  inspec@ons  

Page 6: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

PCA  Mandatory  Inspec@ons  Cont.  For  class  2  buildings  (a  building  containing  2  or  more  sole  occupancy  units  each  being  a  separate  dwelling),  Environmental  Planning  and  Assessment  Act  Regula@ons  require:  

AZer  commencement  of  excava@on  and  prior  to  

foo@ngs  

Prior  to  covering  of  waterproofing  in  wet  areas  for  a  min  10%  of  rooms  with  wet  areas  within  a  building  

Prior  to  covering  any  storm  water  drainage  

connec@ons  

AZer  building  work  is  completed  and  prior  to  occupa@on  cer@ficate  

Page 7: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Other  Obliga@ons  of  a  PCA  

•  Duty  of  care  in  rela@on  to  advice  provided  and  ac@on  completed  

•  Must  sa@sfy  requirements  of  relevant  authori@es  

•  Must  avoid  conflict  of  interest    

•  Can  only  exercise  func@ons  if  covered  by  PI  insurance  

Page 8: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

PCA  PI  Insurance  Requirements  

•  Indemnifies  against  statutory  liability  

•  Statutory  liability  is  defined  a  a  person’s  liability  to  pay  compensatory  damages  for  breach  of  professional  duty  arising  from  any  act  or  omission  whilst  ac@ng  as  a  PCA  

•  Minimum  coverage  $1m  

Page 9: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Main    Tasks  of  the  Building  Professionals  Board  

•  Accredits  cer@fiers  •  Promotes  and  maintains  standards  

•  Inves@gates  complaints  and  audits  

Page 10: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Categories  of  Accredita@on  

•  There  are  over  20  categories  of  accredita@on:  –  Building  Surveying  grades  1,  2  and  3  and  Building  Inspector  

– Other  categories  typically  used  in  strata  schemes  •  Accredited  cer@fier  –  structural  engineering  compliance  •  Accredited  cer@fier  –  fire  safety  engineering  compliance  

•  Each  category  has  an  accredita@on  statement  lis@ng  the  criteria  to  be  sa@sfied    

Page 11: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Code  of  Conduct    

•  Code  does  not  override  relevant  legisla@on  

•  Code  sets  standards  of  conduct  and  professionalism  

•  Failure  to  comply  with  code  is  unsa@sfactory  professional  conduct  

Page 12: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Disciplinary  Case  Examples  

•  Building  Professionals  Board  v  Cohen  [2010]  NSWADT  62  

•  Dix  v  Building  Professionals  Board  [2010]  NSWADT  160  (overturned  on  appeal  to  Supreme  Court)  

Both  deal  with  failure  to  inspect  

Page 13: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Thanks  for  abending  our  webinars  

This  was  the  last  in  our  series  of  webinars  for  2011.    We  would  like  to  thank  you  all  for  joining  us  this  year  and  we  extend  our  best  for  the  season  to  you  all.  

Page 14: Public officials and certifiers   whats their fair share 1 dec 11

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

About  The  Presenter  

TEYS   Lawyers   prac@ce   na@onally   in   strata   @tle   law   represen@ng   owners   corpora@ons,  bodies   corporate   and   apartment  owners.     The  firm’s  prac@ce   groups   include  building  defects,  management  rights,  strata  community  disputes,  by-­‐laws  and  rules  and  levy  and  fee  collec@on.  

Subscribe   for   their   free   e-­‐newsleber   StrataSpace   and   find   out   more   about   them   at  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

Chris   worked   for   many   years   in   leading   commercial   construc@on  law  prac@ces  ac@ng  for  government,  developers  and  contractors  in  disputes   in   the   building,   transport   infrastructure   and   resources  sectors.   He   has   been   involved   in   all   forms   of   dispute   resolu@on  including  li@ga@on,  arbitra@on  and  alterna@ve  dispute  resolu@on  in  a   range   of   jurisdic@ons   in   Australia.   In   the   last   few   years,   he   has  brought  his  specialist  construc@on  industry  knowledge  to  the  strata  sector   and   now   only   acts   for   owners   corpora@ons   in   a   range   of  disputes  in  various  jurisdic@ons.