Applies to multi-unit & multi-storey residential apartment buildings and relevant parties:

• Design Practitioners in the preparation of regulated designs.
• Principal Design Practitioners in the coordination and provision of design compliance declarations.
• Building Practitioners conducting building works.
• Engineers involved the design and production process.
• Specialist Practitioners conducting specialist works.

Reforms seek to improve quality & compliance of design documentation to strengthen accountability across the design, building and construction sector:

• A system of registration of practitioners.
• Compliance Declarations* must be provided by the design practitioner to declare that the designs comply with the the BCA.
• Variations to a declared design must be accompanied by a further Compliance Declaration.
• Design practitioners must be adequately insured.
• Imposes a new Duty of Care upon design and building practitioners.

*Compliance Declaration refers to a written declaration that the building or design work complies with the applicable requirements.

• Under the Act, design and building practitioners that carry out works have a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss to owners caused by building defects.
• This duty of care is owed to current AND subsequent owners and applies retrospectively up to 10 years.
• Where the duty is breached, owners can claim damages for breach.
• There is no cap on damages which may be awarded.
• The duty cannot be delegated & cannot be contracted out.