Selecting a builder for a class 2 building under the Design and Building Practitioners Act
What should a developer check before appointing a builder for an apartment project in New South Wales?
Since 2021 the Design and Building Practitioners Act has changed what a developer should check before appointing a builder for a class 2 building in New South Wales, which covers apartment buildings. Regulated designs must be prepared and declared by registered design practitioners, the building work must be declared by a registered building practitioner, and the declarations are lodged on the NSW Planning Portal before the occupation certificate can issue. A developer should therefore confirm the builder's contractor licence on the Verify NSW register, confirm the registration of the practitioners who will sign the declarations, and ask how the builder manages regulated designs through construction, because a variation that departs from a declared design has to be redeclared. Beyond the Act, the checks are the ones that have always mattered: the licence record including any compliance history, the completed projects and who the developer can speak to about them, insurance, and the financial capacity to carry the job.
What the Act requires
Regulated designs by registered design practitioners, a compliance declaration for the building work by a registered building practitioner, and lodgement of both on the Planning Portal. The requirements apply to class 2 buildings and to mixed-use buildings with a class 2 component.
What to verify on the register
The contractor licence number, class, expiry and any compliance record, on Verify NSW. Calibre publishes its licence number on every page of this site so that check takes a minute. The practitioner registrations of the people who will sign the declarations are on the same register.
What to ask about process
How the builder handles a design change during construction. Under the Act, departing from a declared regulated design without redeclaring it is a problem at occupation certificate. A builder with a design and construct process built around the Act will have a straightforward answer.
What has not changed
Completed projects a developer can visit and clients a developer can call. Insurance certificates. Evidence the builder has delivered the building type and scale before. The Act added a compliance layer; it did not replace due diligence.
Reviewed September 2026. Regulatory settings in New South Wales change; confirm the current requirements with your certifier and solicitor.
Related questions
Does the Act apply to every apartment building?
It applies to class 2 buildings, which is the residential apartment class under the National Construction Code, including the class 2 parts of mixed-use buildings.
Who is the registered building practitioner?
The practitioner who takes responsibility for the building work declaration. On a Calibre project that responsibility sits with the company and its nominated supervisor.
Where are the declarations lodged?
On the NSW Planning Portal, before the occupation certificate is issued. Regulatory settings change; confirm the current requirements with your certifier.
Discuss a site.
Send the address and the stage the project has reached. A director reads every enquiry and replies within one business day.