Beyond the builder: checking the certifier, engineers and trades on your job

Most owners know to check a builder's licence. Fewer check anyone else, yet a typical job involves a certifier, often one or more engineers, and a string of specialist trades, each with their own registration or licence and their own paperwork. If one of them is unlicensed or uninsured, the problem tends to surface at the worst time: when a certificate is refused, an insurer asks questions, or a defect appears.

This article covers who else is on a job in New South Wales, what each must hold, where to check it, and what they should give you. It is the companion to our walkthrough on checking a builder's licence.

The certifier

On most building work that needs approval, a principal certifier is appointed to inspect the work at set stages and, at the end, to issue the occupation certificate. In NSW a principal certifier must be a registered building surveyor, a local council, or a registered body corporate.

What the certifier is, and is not

The NSW Government's guidance on what certifiers do is direct about this:

• Certifiers are public officials and independent regulators of development, and they must uphold the public interest.
• The certifier is not a project manager or site supervisor. The builder is responsible for building in accordance with the approved plans and for the work of subcontractors.

That distinction matters. You may be paying the certifier's fee, but they are not working for you in the way a consultant would, and their inspections are a statutory check at specific stages, not supervision of every trade. We explain how that fits with a builder's own quality control in our post on hold points and the handover record.

How to check a certifier

Certifiers are registered under the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018. Before appointing one, the NSW Government recommends you:

1. Search the Building Certifiers Public Register by name, company or registration number.
2. Check the certifier holds the right class of registration for the work. For example, some building surveyor registrations are restricted to Class 1 and 10 buildings (houses and their outbuildings), while others cover all classes.
3. Read any conditions on the registration.
4. Confirm the registration and professional indemnity insurance are current.
5. Look them up on the separate certifier disciplinary register.

Engineers

Engineers turn up on more jobs than people expect: structural engineers for footings, slabs, beams and wall removals; geotechnical engineers for site classification; civil engineers for stormwater; and mechanical, electrical or fire safety engineers on larger buildings. Our posts on footings and site classification and removing a load-bearing wall cover where they come in.

When registration is required

Under the Design and Building Practitioners scheme, engineers doing professional engineering work in a prescribed area must be registered when they are working on a regulated building. According to the NSW Government:

• The prescribed areas are civil, electrical, fire safety, geotechnical, mechanical and structural engineering.
• A regulated building is a Class 2, 3 or 9c building, or a building with a Class 2, 3 or 9c part. In practice, that means apartment buildings and some other residential and care buildings.
• An unregistered engineer can work on these buildings under the direct supervision of a registered professional engineer.

For apartment buildings, the same scheme also requires registered design and building practitioners to lodge designs and compliance declarations. Our post on the NSW building reforms explains how that works and what it means for developers and owners corporations.

For a house

For most houses, the registration requirement above does not apply, but the engineering still has to be right. Ask:

• Is the engineer chartered or registered with a recognised professional body, and do they hold professional indemnity insurance?
• Is the design specific to this site and this structure, signed, and referenced to the relevant Australian Standards?
• Will the engineer inspect the work, for example reinforcement before a pour, and issue a certificate?

Licensed trades

Some trades need a licence in NSW whatever the size of the job. NSW Fair Trading states that plumbing, draining and gasfitting work needs a licence regardless of its cost, and electrical wiring work is licensed in the same way. There is no small job exemption.

Each of these trades must also give you a compliance certificate when the work is done: a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) for electrical work, and a certificate of compliance for plumbing and gas work. Our post on kitchen renovation approvals and trades covers the timing for each. If a trade cannot tell you which certificate they will issue, treat that as a warning sign.

You can check trade licences on the NSW Government's Verify licence register, the same place you check a builder.

Two specialists worth singling out

• Pest managers. Anyone applying pesticides for a fee, including commercial termite treatments, needs a pest management technician licence from the NSW Environment Protection Authority, which also runs a public register you can search. The EPA notes that a specific timber pest management technician licence is being phased in.
• Asbestos removalists. Removing any amount of friable asbestos needs a Class A licence, and removing more than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos needs a Class B licence or higher, according to SafeWork NSW. Licensed removalists appear on the Verify licence register. In a pre-1990 home or building, this check is not optional.

A change coming

The Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Act 2026 received assent on 14 August 2026. When it commences, it will bring certifier and practitioner registration into a single framework, replacing the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 and the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. Most of it has not started yet, so the registers and rules above remain the ones that apply today. We cover the detail in our post on the NSW building reforms.

For strata committees: what to ask contractors for

Committees and strata managers engage contractors for common property work all the time. Before anyone starts, ask for:

• the licence number for every licensed trade, checked on the register, in the name of the business you are contracting with;
• certificates of currency for public liability insurance, and workers compensation where they employ staff;
• home building compensation cover where the residential building work requires it;
• safe work method statements (SWMS) for high-risk work, such as work at height or work involving asbestos;
• confirmation of which compliance certificates will be provided at completion.

Keep all of it on file. Our checklist on what to ask a maintenance contractor goes further on service agreements.

Common problems we see

• A licence in a different name. The person quoting is licensed, but the business you are paying is not, or the reverse.
• A licence for the wrong category. A builder doing their own electrical or gas work without the separate licence it needs.
• Expired insurance. A certificate of currency handed over once, then not renewed.
• Missing certificates. Electrical, plumbing or waterproofing certificates that were never issued, discovered when selling or when the certifier asks for them.
• Assuming the certifier checked everything. Certifiers inspect at set stages for compliance. They do not supervise trades or vouch for workmanship in between.

How we work

• Every subcontractor is checked before they start. Our subcontractor policy requires the correct licence, insurance certificates, relevant experience and safety record to be checked before a trade is engaged, and each trade completes our site induction and provides the SWMS for their work.
• We coordinate with your certifier and engineers. Inspections are booked at the right stage, and the engineer's and certifier's sign-offs go into the job record.
• We hand over the certificates. Electrical, plumbing, gas, waterproofing and engineering certificates go to the owner at handover, as part of the record.

If you would like help checking the people on a project, or want to talk through a job, get in touch.

Sources

• What certifiers do, NSW Government
• Finding and appointing a certifier, NSW Government
• Building Certifiers Public Register, NSW Government
• Certifier disciplinary register, Building Commission NSW
• Professional engineer work: qualifications and experience, NSW Government
• Plumbing, draining and gasfitting licences, NSW Fair Trading
• Pest management technicians, fumigators and training permits, NSW Environment Protection Authority
• Class B asbestos removal licence, SafeWork NSW
• Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026, Parliament of NSW

This article is general information, not legal advice. Licensing and registration requirements depend on the work, the building class and the date, so check the current registers and confirm with the relevant regulator. Full website disclaimer