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What is a registered building practitioner in NSW?

By BuilderVet team. Last reviewed 2 November 2026.

A registered building practitioner is the principal contractor registered under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 to do or oversee building work on a regulated building, which in NSW currently means class 2 apartment buildings, certain class 3 buildings and class 9c aged care buildings. If your project is one of those, the builder needs this registration on top of a Home Building Act licence, and if it is a typical freestanding house, the scheme does not apply.

This guide is for apartment buyers, owners corporations and anyone commissioning work on a regulated building. It covers which buildings are caught, what the practitioner has to do, how a company registers, and how to check the registration. For ordinary licences, see NSW builder licence types explained.

Which buildings are regulated?

The NSW Government says class 2, 3 and 9c buildings are currently regulated, including mixed-use buildings with a class 2, 3 or 9c part. Its descriptions of those classes are:

Class What it usually is
Class 2 Usually multi-storey, multi-unit apartment buildings where people live above or below each other. It can also be a single storey attached dwelling with a common space below, such as a carpark or basement.
Class 3 Residential buildings, other than class 1 or 2, used for long-term or transient living by unrelated people, such as boarding houses, hostels, backpackers, dormitories and the residential part of a hotel, motel or school.
Class 9c Residential care buildings where 10% or more of residents need physical help with daily activities and to evacuate in an emergency, such as an aged care building with personal care services.

The government also says the laws first applied only to class 2 buildings. From 1 July 2024, certain lower risk class 3 buildings, including hotels and motels with no strata scheme or serviced apartments, are exempt.

Some work is excluded altogether, including exempt development other than certain waterproofing, and some fit-out work. The full list is in clause 13 of the Design and Building Practitioners Regulation.

What does a building practitioner do?

The NSW Government describes the building practitioner as whoever agrees to do or oversee building work on a regulated building. Where there is more than one builder, the building practitioner is the principal contractor.

Their main duties are:

  • Before work starts: lodge all regulated designs and design compliance declarations on the NSW Planning Portal. Building work related to those designs can’t start until this is done.
  • During work: lodge variations to a building element or performance solution on the Planning Portal within one day, with a new or updated regulated design and declaration from a registered design practitioner.
  • At the end: lodge a building compliance declaration and “as built” designs on the Planning Portal before the developer can apply for an occupation certificate.

The building compliance declaration states that the building work was built in line with the declared designs and otherwise complies with the Building Code of Australia. The NSW Government says the final declaration must be made by the building practitioner and can’t be delegated.

Documents lodged on the Planning Portal may also be audited by Building Commission NSW.

How is this different from a builder licence?

They are two separate permissions, and a regulated building needs both kinds of check.

  • A Home Building Act licence covers residential building work generally. See how to check if a builder is licensed in NSW.
  • A DBP Act registration is needed to act as the building practitioner on a class 2, certain class 3 or class 9c building.

The NSW Government says you need to register as a building practitioner to oversee work on those buildings even if you hold a valid NSW building licence under the Home Building Act 1989. It also says registration is needed only for the head building practitioner or principal contractor, so not every subcontractor and tradesperson on the job needs to register.

How does a building company register?

The NSW Government says it is mandatory for a building company engaged as principal contractor to hold registration as a building practitioner, body corporate. That company must also have a director or employee who holds individual registration and can be appointed as the nominated individual to make the building compliance declaration for the company.

Other points from the government’s registration guidance:

  • Both individuals and companies can register, but a trust or partnership can’t be the registered body corporate.
  • Someone who is an undischarged bankrupt can’t register.
  • Interstate practitioners still need NSW registration.
  • Registration has to be in place before building work starts.
  • Some classes are restricted to low-rise or medium-rise buildings. A low-rise building is a class 2, 3 or 9c building with a gross floor area of no more than 2,000 square metres that is not Type A or Type B construction.
  • If the company’s nominated individual is in a restricted class, the company is restricted to the same class of work.

If the company does not hold a current Home Building Act licence or certificate, the government says it can only make declarations for class 3 and 9c buildings, not class 2.

How do you check a building practitioner?

  1. Find out who the principal contractor is. On an apartment project, the contract or the developer should name the company acting as building practitioner. Check the company on ASIC too. See how to check a builder’s company on ASIC.
  2. Look up the registration. Service NSW has an online check for building practitioner, design practitioner and professional engineer registrations. You can search by name, licence number, ABN, ACN or location. Check the company registration and the nominated individual.
  3. Check the class. If the registration is for low-rise only, make sure the building fits that limit.
  4. Check the Home Building Act licence as well, for class 2 work.
  5. Check disciplinary history. Building Commission NSW keeps a design and building practitioners disciplinary register of action taken against current and former registered practitioners. See how to check a NSW builder for disciplinary action.
  6. Check orders. Building Commission NSW’s register of building work orders lists in-force prohibition orders, building work rectification orders and stop work orders for residential apartment buildings.

Worked example: an owners corporation hires a builder

Say an owners corporation in a five-storey apartment building plans waterproofing and balcony repairs, and gets a quote from a building company.

  1. The building is class 2, so the committee asks whether the work is regulated under the DBP scheme. Their certifier or adviser helps confirm whether any exclusion applies.
  2. They look up the company on Verify NSW and find a current building practitioner, body corporate registration, plus a current contractor licence.
  3. They ask who the nominated individual is and check that person’s registration and class.
  4. They search the disciplinary register and the register of building work orders for both names.
  5. They ask the builder to confirm in writing that regulated designs and declarations will be lodged on the Planning Portal before work starts.

We don’t tell owners which builder to pick. The point is to confirm the right registrations exist before anyone signs.

How BuilderVet helps

Our free check shows the NSW licence, ASIC and ABN records for the business on your quote, with the date we checked each one. For NSW builds, Build Watch (A$79 once) sends change notices for 24 months. See pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Does a house builder need to be a registered building practitioner?

Generally no. The scheme currently covers class 2, certain class 3 and class 9c buildings. A typical freestanding house is not one of those classes.

Is a building practitioner registration the same as a builder licence?

No. The NSW Government says you need the registration to oversee work on a regulated building even if you already hold a Home Building Act licence.

Does every tradesperson on an apartment job need to register?

No. Only the head building practitioner or principal contractor needs to register, so that it can make the building compliance declaration.

Can a company be a registered building practitioner?

Yes. A building company engaged as principal contractor must register as a building practitioner, body corporate, and have a registered director or employee as its nominated individual.

Can a bankrupt person register?

No. The NSW Government says an undischarged bankrupt can’t register as a building practitioner.

How do I look up a registration?

Use the Service NSW online check for building practitioner registrations. Search by name, registration number, ABN, ACN or suburb.

Where can I see disciplinary action against a practitioner?

On Building Commission NSW’s design and building practitioners disciplinary register, which covers current and former registered practitioners.

Sources

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Last reviewed 2 Nov 2026