The Design and Building Practitioners Act : A quick guide
20 September 2025 in Building and Construction Law | 5 min read | skip to FAQsThe Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (“Act”) was enacted in response to several major construction project failures, particularly in residential towers. The Shergold Weir Report, commissioned in 2017, identified and documented compliance shortcomings in the NSW construction industry, highlighting the need for greater accountability and responsibility within the sector.
The Act and the Design & Building Practitioners Regulations 2021 (NSW) (“Regulations”) were introduced, among other measures, to address these issues and improve the quality of construction projects. The Act introduced registration and insurance obligations for any design, engineering, project managers and building practitioners working on Class 2 (i.e. multi-dwelling) buildings or mixed use buildings with a Class 2 part. This is to ensure that all practitioners have the necessary skills and qualifications to carry out their work and meet the standards of compliance required in Class 2 buildings. It also requires designers and builders to provide compliance declarations regarding regulated designs and completed building to the Department of Customer Service.
In addition, the Act stipulates that anyone who carries out construction work has a duty of care to current and subsequent owners to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss caused by building defects and construction work. Such duty of care operates to render any building practitioner personally liable for any breach of this duty of care. This relates to Class 1, 2, 3 and 9c buildings.
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Registration and Compliance Obligations
- Design Practitioners Section 9 of the Design and Building Practitioners Act requires that a Registered Design Practitioner must provide a Design Compliance Declaration for any Building Work as defined in the Act. The Design Compliance Declaration must declare that the design complies with the Building Code of Australia and section 12 of the Act provides that the Registered Design Practitioner must submit the Design Compliance Declaration in the NSW Planning Portal. This must occur before construction begins.
- Section 15 of the Act requires that a Building Practitioner who completes Building Work, (as defined in the Act), provides all relevant documents to the Secretary of the NSW Department of Customer Service. Section 18 of the Act requires a Building Practitioner to take all reasonable steps to ensure that each regulated design is prepared by an appropriately registered design practitioner and that all designs have a Design Compliance Declaration.
- Registrations. There are 35 different types of registration that are available for instance, Designer Practitioners, Principal Design Practitioners, Building Practitioners, project managers and Engineers, as set out in schedule 1 of the Regulations. However, only the person submitting the Design Compliance Declarations or other documents to the NSW Department of Customer Service must be registered.
Duty of Care
The Design and Building Practitioners Act also introduced a duty of care for all persons involved in construction work. Section 37 of the Act states that “a person who carries out construction work has a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss caused by defects.” This means that anyone involved in construction work, including builders, designers, engineers and project managers, must take reasonable care to avoid defects that may cause economic loss to the owner. The duty of care applies retrospectively to buildings less than 10 years old from 10th June 2020. It also applies to subsequent owners.
The duty of care applies to Class 1 and 2 residential buildings. Since July 2023 the duty of care has been extended to include Class 3 (boarding houses, hostels and hotels) and 9c (residential aged care) buildings.
Furthermore, duty of care is not limited to residential building work, it also extends to commercial buildings. The New South Wales Supreme Court held in the case of Goodwin Street Developments Pty Ltd as trustee for Jesmond Unit Trust v DSD Builders Pty Ltd (In liq) that building work and construction work include major engineering projects and that the duty of care applies to any person involved in coordinating, supervising, project managing or otherwise having substantive control over the carrying out of the work.
The duty of care operates to render any building practitioner personally liable for any breach of this duty of care. For further information on this liability, see our related article on builders personal liability for defects.
The role of the Building Legislation Amendment Act
The Building Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (NSW) has had several effects on occupations covered by the Design and Practitioners Act. One of these is via the establishment of a government regulatory body called the NSW Building Commission which is responsible for developing, inspecting and enforcing building standards and codes of practice to a wide range of businesses and individuals associated with the construction of Class 1 and 2 buildings. This includes all design and building practitioners and has resulted in the amendment of the Design and Practitioners Act. For further information, please see our article on the Building Legislation Amendment Act.
Another significant effect of the 2023 legislation was the widening of the responsibility of building product safety to include the majority of occupations in the supply chain of building products. It mandates an increased duty of care, and responsibilities across the building product supply chain with respect to product recall and rectification of products that don’t comply with relevant standards. As an example, building designers and architects must amend their designs to remove the product and specify the compliant replacement to other members of the building product supply chain.
How can BSM Sydney Lawyers assist you?
The Building and Construction lawyers at Brander Smith McKnight Sydney Lawyers are highly experienced in all aspects of the Design and Building Practitioners Act. Our expert construction team will give you clear and straight forward advice on how this Act affects you and assist with the process of registration. We are responsive, experienced and up to date with the most recent legislation. Importantly, this includes the Building Legislation Amendment Act which has had a significant impact on occupations covered by the Design and Building Practitioner Act. Our senior construction lawyers offer a free 20-minute consultation.
Call us to arrange a free 20 minute no obligation consultation that includes case evaluation and cost estimate.
FAQs
What is a Design Compliance Declaration?
A design compliance declaration is a requirement, set out in Section 9 of the Design and Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW), that is required for relevant building work, being Class 2 and Class 3 and 9c buildings. It needs to be completed by a registered design practitioner and declares, among other things, that the design of the building complies with the Building Code of Australia. It is submitted to the NSW Department of Customer Service. Class 2 essentially refers to multi-dwelling residential buildings and Class 3 refers to boarding houses, hostels, hotels and guest houses. Class 9c refers to aged care and assisted living buildings.
Why was the Design and Practitioners Act Introduced?
- The Design and Practitioners Act was introduced in 2021 initially to improve the quality of Class 2 construction projects by bringing in registration obligations, so that all practitioners have the necessary skills and qualifications to meet compliance standards. There are 35 different types of registration, including engineers, architects, principal design practitioners, designers, tradespeople and building practitioners.
- It also introduced formal certification obligations with respect to regulated designs and building work.
The Act also formalises duty of care owed by the practitioner to the property owner and personal liability of the practitioner for defective work.
- The Act states that anyone involved in construction work, including builders, designers, engineers and project managers, have a duty of care to avoid building defects that may cause economic loss to the owner, (or subsequent owners). This applies to Class 1, 2, 3, 9c and all commercial buildings.
- Section 36 of the Act introduces personal liability to any person covered by the Design and Builder Practitioners Act. Please see our related article on builders personal liability for defects.
How do Practitioners become Registered?
To become registered the practitioner needs to apply according to their particular category of registration through the NSW Planning Portal.
How do Builders become Registered?
To qualify for registration, builders must
- hold a contractor licence under the Home Building Act 1989 and
- have 5 years of recent practical and relevant experience.
Does the Design and Practitioners Act apply retrospectively and to non-residential Construction?
Yes. The 2021 Act applies retrospectively and to major non-residential commercial buildings. It assumes that anyone involved in a construction project has a duty of care and must take reasonable care to avoid defects that may cause economic loss to the owner and subsequent owners. The duty of care applies retrospectively to buildings less than 10 years old from 10th June 2020.
Are Home Buildings (Class 1 buildings) covered by the Design and Practitioners Act?
Yes, Class 1 buildings are covered by the Design and Practitioners Act. However importantly, building practitioners do not need to be registered to work on Class 1 buildings as they do with Class 2, 3 and 9c buildings. Class 1 buildings are residential homes, townhouses and duplexes.
The addition of Class 1 buildings ocurred in 2023 via the Building Legislation Amendment Act. For further information see our related articles on the role of the Building Commission and the Building Legislation Amendment Act.
When were Class 3 and Class 9c Buildings included in the Design and Building Practitioners Act?
Class 3 and 9c buildings were included in the Design and Building Practitioners legislation on 1st July 2023.
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About the Author
Curtis Newbitt-HillBachelor of Laws I Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Economics I Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice I Admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW & the High Court of Australia
View profileCurtis Newbitt-Hill is a Senior Associate at Brander Smith McKnight and holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce with a majoring in Economics from the University of Wollongong. He also holds a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the College of Law. Curtis is admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia. Curtis has a special interest in and has extensive experience in building and construction law. He is respected as an industry expert, providing practical and personalised legal assistance in building contract drafting, review and negotiation, dispute resolution strategies, major and minor building defects, delays and extensions of time and NCAT strategies. Curtis has extensive experience with the Design and Building Practitioners Act.
