Owner Builder Permits – New Requirements

In New South Wales, new qualification requirements for owner builder permits came into effect on 1 October 2010.

The new qualification requirements are not a surprise – they have been flagged for some time.

The Owner Builder market in New South Wales is quite large with over 10,000 permits issued by the Department of Fair Trading during 2009/10. On latest figures, the number of NSW permits expected to be issued in 2010/2011 will be even higher. The Department believes that the compliance requirements covering this market need to be improved as there have been a number of unfortunate fatalities on owner builder sites in recent years.

Under the new owner builder qualification requirements effective 1 October 2010, two separate steps are involved  -

1. Obtain a WorkCover “Work Safely in the Construction Industry” Card (White Card) prior to commencing Module 3 of your Course in Owner Builder Compliance. In NSW, it is a requirement that the White Card be completed in a face-to-face environment over a minimum of 6.5hours. Go to www.workcover.nsw.gov.au and click on Training and Assessment or speak to your course provider on how to obtain your White Card. The cost to obtain your White Card can be expected to be in the vicinity of $150.
   
   
2. Undertake the Course which comprises five Modules –
   
   
   1. Preparing to be an owner builder.
      
      
   2. Administer Contracts.
      
      
   3. Occupational Health and Safety.
      
      
   4. Drawing, Estimating and Cash Flow.
      
      
   5. Managing the Work.
      
      

At present, there are seven approved Course providers but only one that offers the course on-line. The on-line provider is Abacus Owner Builder Online and their web site is www.ozob.com.au

According to the web site, the cost of the overall NSW course is $329 with additional costs listed on the web site for optional extras such as $35 for the printed owner builder study guide.

The Department of Fair Trading’ web site www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au provides an overview of the new requirements. If you want to see the complete list of the approved course providers, go to Fair Trading’s site and follow the following steps:

• Go to Tenants & Home Owners and click on Home building & renovating
  
  
• Click on Becoming an owner-builder (in text)
  
  
• Click on How do I get an owner-builder permit (in text)
  
  
• Click on Owner builder approved education course