BUILDING REGULATIONS 2004

[Consolidated as at 17 November 2013

on the authority of the Administrator

and in accordance with

the Enactments Reprinting Act 1980]

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

 1. Short title

 2. Commencement

 3. Interpretation

 4. Forms

 5. Exemption of building activities

 6. Norfolk Island Building Code

 7. Building application form

 8. Building approval modification application form

 9. Compliance order

 10. Instrument of appointment of authorised officers 

 11. Stages and inspection of building work

 12. Lapsing of building approval

 13. Bodies accredited for building products, etc

 14. Form for compliance declarations

 15. Occupancy certificate

 16. Application for building approval

 17. Application fees

 18. Copy fee

  Schedule 1

  Schedule 2

  Schedule 3

  Schedule 4

Building Regulations 2004

Short title

 1. These Regulations may be cited as the Building Regulations 2004.

Commencement

 2. These Regulations shall commence operation on the day on which notification of their being made is published in the Gazette.

Interpretation

 3. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears —

“the Act” means the Building Act 2002;

“approved form” means a form approved by the Chief Executive Officer under Regulation 4;

“pergola” does not include a building or structure with a roof or sides that are impermeable to the wind.

Forms

 4. (1) If a provision of these Regulations requires a person to use an approved form, the Chief Executive Officer must approve a form for the purpose of the provision.

  (2) A person may ask the Chief Executive Officer for a document setting out an approved form.

  (3) The Chief Executive Officer must comply promptly with the request.

Exemption of building activities

 5.              For the definition “building activity” in section 5 of the Act, the activities listed in Schedule 1 of these Regulations are not building activities.

Norfolk Island Building Code

 6. For the purposes of section 6 of the Act, the Norfolk Island Building Code is as provided for in Schedule 2 of these Regulations.

Building application form

 7.              A building application to the Chief Executive Officer under Part 3 of the Act shall be in the approved form.

Building approval modification application form 

 8. An application to modify a building approval under section 23 of the Act shall be in the approved form.

Compliance order

 9. A compliance order issued by an authorised officer under Part 6 of the Act shall be in the approved form.

Instrument of appointment of authorised officers

 10. An instrument of appointment of an authorised officer shall be in the approved form and signed by the officer.

Stages and inspection of building work

 11. (1) For subsection 17(6) of the Act, the stages of building work for which conditions about those stages are required are the stages specified in Schedule 3 of these Regulations.

Lapsing of building approval

 12. For the purposes of section 31 of the Act —

“prescribed date” in relation to the lapsing of a building approval means the later of —

(a) 24 months after the approval is given; or

(b) a later date specified in the approval.

Bodies accredited for building products, etc

 13. For section 35 of the Act, the persons or bodies specified in Schedule 4 of these Regulations are accredited.

Form for compliance declarations 

 14. A compliance declaration under Division 2 of Part 4 of the Act shall be in the approved form.

Occupancy certificate

 15. (1) An occupancy certificate under Division 2 of Part 4 of the Act shall be in the approved form.

  (2) If more than one occupancy certificate has been issued in relation to a building, the Chief Executive Officer may issue a consolidated occupancy certificate in relation to the whole building and where the Chief Executive Officer does so the Chief Executive Officer shall revoke the existing occupancy certificates.

Application for building approval

 16. An application for a building approval shall be accompanied by —

(a) drawings showing the plan and proposed usage at each floor level, elevations, sections and dimensions of the building, the sizes and locations of structural members to a scale of not less than 1:100; and

(b) drawings containing sufficient detail and at a scale appropriate to the work carried out or to be carried out to show the plumbing and drainage work to be carried out; and

(c) drawings to a scale of not less than 1:500 showing —

(i) the boundaries and dimensions of the allotment, relevant easements and adjacent streets; and

(ii) the position and dimension of the building and the relationship of the building to the boundaries of the allotment, existing buildings on the allotment and adjoining allotments together with details of the purposes for which the buildings are to be used; and

(iii) the levels of the site and of the floors of the building in relation to an adjoining street channel, if any; and

(iv) the location of protected trees identifying or specifying the species of each tree, where the distance of the protected tree from the proposed building is less than or equal to the height of the tree plus 5m; and

(d) in the case of an alteration or modification of a building, a statement that describes the purposes for which the building has been used and is to be used.

Application fees

 17. (1) For the purposes of paragraph 10(2)(c) of the Act, the prescribed fee for a building application for building approval is the same fee as is prescribed for a development application by paragraph 44(1) of the Planning Regulations 2004, but if a fee has been previously paid under the said paragraph 44(1), no fee shall be payable under this paragraph.

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph 24(2)(b) of the Act, the prescribed fee for an application for a building approval modification is the same fee as is prescribed for a development approval modification application by paragraph 44(4) of the Planning Regulations 2004, but if a fee has been previously paid under the said paragraph 44(4), no fee shall be payable under this paragraph.

 (3) If an application made under paragraph 17(1) or 17(2) is withdrawn the prescribed fee paid shall be refunded in accordance with the following provisions –

(a) if the assessment of the application has not yet commenced – the fee less 10%;

(b) if the assessment of the application has commenced but no recommendation has been made by the Chief Executive Officer – the fee less 50%; but

(c) if the Chief Executive Officer has made a recommendation there shall be no refund.

Copy fee

 18. For the purposes of subsection 64(2) of the Act, where the Chief Executive Officer makes copies of or extracts from a document that is available for public inspection to supply to any person, the Chief Executive Officer may charge the person the reasonable cost of making the copies.

SCHEDULE 1

(Regulation 5)

ACTIVITIES THAT ARE NOT BUILDING ACTIVITIES

[Note: For the activities listed in this Schedule, building approval is not required.  However, all building work, whether or not a building approval is required for the activity, must comply with the requirements of the Norfolk Island Building Code]

SCHEDULE 2

(Regulation 6)

NORFOLK ISLAND BUILDING CODE

1. The following codes are adopted as the Norfolk Island Building Code subject to the following modifications:

A. Volume One (1) of the Building Code of Australia (BCA 96) (for class 2-9 Buildings) –

(a) Section A: General Provisions; and

(b) Section B: Structure.

B. Volume Two (2) of the Building Code of Australia (BCA 96) (for class 1 and 10 Buildings) excluding—

(a) Part D3 of Volume One (1) of the Building Code of Australia (BCA 96) as it applies to Volume Two (2);

(b) Part 3.8.1 — “Health and Amenity: Wet Areas” — of Volume Two (2) of the Building Code of Australia (BCA 96).

C.      AS/NZS 3500.1 2003   —  Water services

AS/NZS 3500.2 2003  —  Sanitary plumbing and draining

AS/NZS 3500.3 2003  —  Plumbing and drainage – stormwater drainage

AS/NZS 3500.4 2003  —  Plumbing and draining – heated water services

D. AS 5601 —2002 and AG 601 —2002 — Gas Installations;

E. AS 1596 — LP Gas Storage and Handling

2. In addition the following standards apply.

(a) All new habitable buildings and rooms must have sisalation installed under the roofing material.

(b) All new habitable buildings and rooms with timber framing must have studs not less than 90x45mm for all external walls and any load-bearing internal walls.

SCHEDULE 3

(Regulation 11)

Inspection Stages of building work

Stage A.

Completion of —

(a) excavation and placement of formwork and steel reinforcing for any slab, footing, wall, foundation wall, or like item but before any concrete for any slab, footing, wall, foundation wall or like item is poured; and

(b) excavation for any piers, posts, stumps, and like items but before any concrete for any piers, posts, stumps, or like items is poured; and

(c) placement of formwork and steel for any reinforced concrete member but before any concrete for the member is poured.

Stage B.

Completion of the structural framework and before the placement of any external cladding, roofing material or internal lining.

Stage C.

Completion of drainage work but before the covering over of any of those works.

Stage D.

Completion of plumbing services but before the covering over of any of those services.

Stage E.

Completion of the building work approved in the relevant building approval before occupancy or use of the building.

SCHEDULE 4

(Regulation 13)

Accredited persons or bodies for building products, etc

• Standards Association of Australia
• Standards New Zealand
• Australian Building Codes Board
• Building Industry Authority of New Zealand

NOTES

The Building Regulations 2004 as shown in this consolidation comprises regulations No. 3 of 2004 and amendments as indicated in the Tables below.

Table of Amendments

© Norfolk Island Government 2013

The Copyright Act 1968 of the Commonwealth of Australia permits certain reproduction and publication of this legislation. For reproduction or publication beyond that permitted by the Act, written permission must be sought from the Legislative Counsel, Administration of Norfolk Island, Norfolk Island, South Pacific 2899.