Performance Criteria

Certifiers shall not sign the design certificate until they are satisfied that the design has been completed and checked to an appropriate standard

Background

It is a requirement of the Act that a certificate issued by an Approved Certifier of design must certify that the design of the building complies with the building regulations. This requirement has been reflected in the wording of the design certificate. This implies that certificates cannot be signed until the design has been completed. Certificates cannot be issued as a promise of future action.

Guidance

Work should be programmed and/or building warrant applications staged in a way that will accommodate the design process and ensure that there is sufficient time for adequate checks of the design to be undertaken before the certificate of design is completed.

It is important that there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the design was completed and checked before the certificate of design was signed.

It is not expected that every page of the design documents is signed and dated by the checker and Certifier; the use of a control sheet is acceptable. However, this should detail the pages that have been checked and reviewed by the certifier and dated. It is expected that there will evidence of the check and review in the form of annotations, handwritten or digital, or a separate document recording the comments of the checker and certifier. There also needs to be evidence that any comments have been considered and corrections made, if appropriate.

Examples of Major Non-conformances

Design certificate(s) signed before the design of all of the elements is complete, except where the element is listed on schedule 1.

Absence of evidence to demonstrate that the Certifier reviewed the design to see that any comments arising from an earlier review were incorporated, with corrections made where appropriate.

Examples of Improvement Issues

Inadequate evidence to demonstrate that the Certifier reviewed the design to see that any comments arising from an earlier review were incorporated, with corrections made where appropriate

March 2022 

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