Restricted Building Work and Licenced Building Practitioners
From 1st March 2012
Licensed Building Practitioners Scheme (LBP's)
Building (Definition of Restricted Building Work) Order 2011
The LBP scheme is one of the changes in the Building Act 2004 to encourage better building design and construction.
The licensed building practitioners (LBP) scheme promotes, recognises and supports professional skills and behaviour in the building construction industry.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment administers the scheme.
From 1 March 2012 critical building work that is known as Restricted Building Work, must be supervised or carried out by an LBP (Licensed Building Practitioner).
If you are building, this affects YOU...
Consumers and building practitioners are affected, visit Licensed Building Practitioners on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) website for more information.
The critical factors affecting the building industry are:
- the requirement to employ the services of a licensed building practitioner from 1 March 2012 to either complete, or supervise, restricted building work (see below).
- the requirement to provide a Certificate of Work (available 1 March 2012) at building consent application.
- the names of all licensed building practitioners must be supplied to Council BEFORE construction begins. Please note: you will NOT be able to book an inspection until this list has been supplied to Council.
- the requirement to provide a Record of Work (available 1 March 2012) from each of the licensed building practitioners involved in the construction, when the project is complete.
Restricted Building Work
From 1 March 2012, only LBPs will be allowed to carry out or supervise 'restricted building work' (design work that is critical to the integrity of a building).
Therefore, a consent application that involves restricted building work will need to include the names of LBP's carrying out or supervising that work.
See section 45(1)(e) of the Building Act.
The Government will detail restricted building work before 2012, but it is likely to include the design and construction of a house or small-medium sized apartments:
- primary structure (e.g., foundations and framing) - to ensure the building can withstand vertical and horizontal loads.
- external envelope (e.g., roofing and cladding) - to ensure the building is weather-tight.
- fire safety systems (e.g., sprinklers, fire alarms) - to ensure people are adequately protected from the dangers of smoke and fire.
Appropriately licensed LBPs will be responsible for plans and specifications used in a consent application for restricted building work. See section 45(2)-(4) of the Building Act.
For more information about Restricted Building Work, visit the MBIE website.
Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP)
A person recorded in the register of LBPs because they have satisfied the Registrar of LBPs that they meet the standards for their licence class. See section 286 of the Building Act
There are seven license classes in the LBP scheme:
You can apply to be licensed in more than one licence class but you must be able to demonstrate that you are competent in each class you apply for. Refer to the www.building.govt.nz website for more information.
The competencies for the licence classes were developed by industry working groups. They represent the skills and knowledge that a competent person with sound experience in the building construction industry should be able to demonstrate.
The LBP scheme is for competent individuals. Companies and commercial entities cannot be licensed, but the people they employ or subcontract can apply to be licensed.
Get Licenced
If your work is covered by one of the licence classes, this is your opportunity to have your skills and experience formally recognised. Visit the Licenced Building Practitioners website.
To check if your builder / contractor are currently licensed under the LBP scheme, we recommend you search the Public Register by their name.
