Owner-builders have several professional responsibilities for construction and overseeing building work.

Licensing

You must be licensed to carry out owner-builder work.

Insurance

You do not need warranty insurance. However, as a supervisor of building work, an owner-builder needs to be aware of insurance requirements, in particular, workers’ compensation for any workers that are involved in the project. Owner-builders can check with their insurance provider for advice on insurance needs, including public liability and increasing the house insurance to cover any additions.

Standards and legislation

The standards and legislation that apply to owner-builders’ work are:

• Building Act 2004;
• Building (general) regulations 2008;
• Environment ACT requirements about noise and water pollution.
• Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004;
• Construction Occupations (Licensing) Regulations 2004;
• ACT WorkCover construction rules;
• Building Code of Australia, all sections (volume two Housing Provisions); and
• any relevant Australian Standards where the work relates to it, such as AS 2870 Residential slabs and footings-Construction-1996 and AS 3740 Waterproofing of wet areas within residential buildings-2004.

As an owner-builder, you take on the same responsibilities as a licensed builder to:

• supervise building work;
• ensure the building work complies with the Building Act 2004;
• ensure the work is done in a proper and skilful way; and
• ensure the work is done in accordance with approved plans.

You are responsible for up to 10 years for any building work you do. Within that time you may be issued with a rectification order to fix non-compliant work, even if the property has been sold.

Notifications, inspections and approvals

The steps you will take while building are summarised in owner-builder licences and building approval. These steps include:

• completing an owner-builder course to be eligible for an owner-builder licence;
• obtaining a commencement notice from a certifier before work starts;
• booking inspections with the certifier at the appropriate stages; and
• complying with directions given by a certifier after an unsuccessful inspection.

You should also understand the certifiers’ responsibilities when you are an owner-builder.

Safety

You are responsible for site management and for ensuring safety precautions are in place. You need to be aware of Workcover requirements on workplace safety.

Regulation

You may be subject to disciplinary actions for legislation breaches. Discipline may be cancellation of the owner-builder licence, suspension or a fine. As well, demerit points can be allocated to an owner-builder. You can be prosecuted for offences under the Building Act 2004 and the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004.