The need for a Practice Standard for certifiers has been highlighted by various independent reviews of building regulation in NSW. The current comprehensive reform of building regulation undertaken by the NSW Building Commissioner has provided the impetus to address the need for a standard for certifiers, setting out the approach that needs to be followed in undertaking certification work as public officials.

The decision was taken for the first Practice Standard to focus on residential apartment buildings for two reasons:

• The majority of problems and complaints have occurred with these buildings, and
• For these buildings there is a separation between the developer who assumes the role of owner during planning and construction and the ultimate unit owners who are not represented during the building phase and generally do not have the expertise to assess the quality of the building and its conformity with building standards.

It is intended to produce Practice Standards covering the other building classes and Complying Development, which will draw on this initial Standard.

The Practice Standard has been developed in full consultation with a reference panel that covers all the major relevant areas of the building sector and building regulation. The persons on the reference panel and the organisations that nominated them are provided at Appendix B, together with the members and nominating organisations of four working groups that provided valuable input on four areas requiring particular focus, namely:

• Fire Protection.
• Wet Areas and Waterproofing.
• Consistency of Construction and Occupation Certificates with Development Consent.
• Occupation Certificates.

The valuable contribution of all members of the reference panel and the working groups is fully acknowledged.

The Practice Standard will be regularly reviewed and updated in the light of evolving experience, developments in relevant technology and developments in the overall approach to building regulation and building practice.

The Practice Standard is part of the overall building regulation reform framework which is being developed on behalf of the NSW Government by the NSW Building Commissioner.