If you're developing apartments, a boarding house or an aged care facility in NSW, the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (the DBP Act) changed how your project gets designed, declared and approved — and the consequences of getting it wrong are serious. Work can't lawfully start, your occupation certificate can be held up, and penalties run into six figures.
Here's a practical guide from a registered engineering practice to when you need a registered design practitioner, who does what, and what has to be lodged before anyone picks up a tool.
If your project is a regulated building, then yes. Regulated designs must be prepared by a registered design practitioner, who makes a design compliance declaration stating the design complies with the Building Code of Australia. Separately, professional engineering work must be carried out by a registered professional engineer.
Those designs and declarations then have to be lodged on the NSW Planning Portal before building work commences.
This is the part most people get wrong, because the scheme is broader than it first was. It currently applies to class 2, class 3 and class 9c buildings — and buildings that include a class 2, 3 or 9c part:
Mixed-use is the trap. If your building contains a class 2 part — say apartments over ground-floor retail, or above a carpark — the requirements apply to the whole building, not just the residential portion. Plenty of developers have been caught out assuming the shops downstairs sit outside the scheme.
A regulated design is a design prepared for a building element or a performance solution in a regulated building. In practice that covers the things that make a building safe and durable — including structural design, fire safety systems, waterproofing and building services.
Each design compliance declaration covers a single regulated design, so a project of any size will involve multiple designs and multiple declarations.
Note that one person or practice often holds more than one registration. A structural engineer working on an apartment project will typically need to be both a registered professional engineer and a registered design practitioner in the relevant class.
The order is strict, and it's where most project delays originate:
The practical lesson: engage registered practitioners early. Discovering mid-project that a design was prepared by someone unregistered is expensive to unwind.
The DBP scheme has real teeth:
This one catches out builders working across borders: an engineer registered in another state — an RPEQ in Queensland, for instance — cannot simply work on a NSW regulated building. They must be registered under the NSW scheme, though Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) may provide a pathway for eligible engineers and architects.
If you're engaging an out-of-state consultant, confirm their NSW registration specifically, not just their home-state credentials.
Usually not. A standalone home is a class 1a building and sits outside the DBP scheme, as do most duplexes and townhouses where each dwelling is separately class 1a.
But classification depends on the building's actual configuration — stacked units, for example, can fall into class 2 even on a small site. If there's any doubt, confirm the classification with your certifier before you assume the scheme doesn't apply.
Before engaging a consultant on a regulated building, ask for their registration number and class, and verify it. Registered practitioners also carry ongoing obligations — a code of practice, continuing professional development and record keeping — so registration isn't a one-off box tick.
QED Engineers is a registered Design & Building Practitioner in NSW and provides structural and civil engineering for regulated buildings — including regulated designs and design compliance declarations, prepared to lodge on the NSW Planning Portal without hold-ups.
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This article is general information only and reflects NSW requirements at the time of writing. NSW building regulation is subject to ongoing reform — always confirm current obligations with NSW Fair Trading, the NSW Building Commission or your certifier before relying on this information.
What is a regulated building under the DBP Act? A class 2, 3 or 9c building, or a building that includes a class 2, 3 or 9c part. Class 2 covers apartment buildings and buildings with two or more separate dwellings; class 3 covers boarding houses and similar residential buildings; class 9c covers residential aged care.
Do the requirements apply to the whole mixed-use building? Yes. If a building contains a class 2 part — such as apartments above retail or a carpark — the requirements apply to all parts of the building, not just the residential component.
What is a design compliance declaration? A declaration made by a registered design practitioner stating that a regulated design complies with the Building Code of Australia and contains enough detail to support the building work. Each declaration covers a single regulated design.
When must designs be lodged on the NSW Planning Portal? The registered building practitioner must lodge the construction-issued regulated designs and their declarations before building work commences, lodge any variations as they occur, and lodge the building compliance declaration and final designs before applying for an occupation certificate.
Can an interstate engineer work on a NSW class 2 building? Not without NSW registration. Interstate practitioners must register under the NSW scheme, though Automatic Mutual Recognition may offer a pathway for eligible engineers and architects.
What are the penalties for declaring without registration? Making a compliance declaration while unregistered, or failing to make a required declaration, carries a maximum penalty of up to $165,000 for a body corporate.
