Before a Certificate of Occupancy can be issued the Statement of Compliance must be signed. This is a legal document under section 146(2) of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (the Act), provided to the council and/or building certifier at the end of the construction process and must be signed by:
- a licensed building work contractor responsible for carrying out the work, a registered building work supervisor, or a building certifier, after they have completed all contracted work
- the owner or by someone acting on his or her behalf, after they have checked that all contracted work had been completed.
There may be multiple Statement of Compliance forms completed where different parties are responsible for parts of the process, i.e. installer of a fire system.
The Statement of Compliance lets everyone know that the house has been built to meet the approved plans and the relevant building consent. A builder may nominate work that may need to be completed by the homeowner that may need to be completed before the house is suitable to be lived in.
It is important not to sign the Statement of Compliance until the required work is completed to the required standard. If there is a dispute you may need to seek additional advice from your Council or legal representation to understand your rights and responsibilities.
Once the Statement of Compliance is complete and outstanding items have been completed (such as the installation of smoke alarms and bushfire tanks) an application can be submitted for a Certificate of Occupancy.
