What is an Occupation Certificate in NSW?
A finished building cannot be lived in until the certificate is issued. On special-use accommodation, everything after handover waits on it.
What is an Occupation Certificate in NSW?
An Occupation Certificate is the document that allows a new building, or part of one, to be occupied and used in New South Wales. The principal certifier issues it once satisfied that the building is suitable to occupy for its class under the National Construction Code and consistent with its approval. Without it, residents cannot move in.
An Occupation Certificate, or OC, is the document that allows a new building to be occupied and used in New South Wales. Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, nobody can move into a new building, or start using part of one, until a certificate covering it has been issued.
It is the last approval on a project. Planning consent allows the building, a construction certificate or complying development certificate allows the work to start, and the OC allows people to live there. The approvals that come before it are set out in planning pathways for special-use accommodation in NSW.
Who issues it
The principal certifier issues the OC. That is the certifier appointed for the building work, either a registered certifier or the council, and the same certifier carries out the critical stage inspections while the building goes up.
Applications are lodged through the NSW Planning Portal.
What the certifier checks
Before issuing the certificate, the principal certifier has to be satisfied of two things. The building has to be suitable to occupy for its classification under the National Construction Code, and it has to be consistent with its development consent and the approved construction documents.
That means the inspections are done, the certificates and test results from each trade are in hand, and any departure from the approved plans has been resolved.
Fire safety
Where a building has essential fire safety measures, such as emergency lighting, exit signs or fire doors, a fire safety certificate confirming each measure has been assessed is part of the application.
The obligation carries on after handover. The owner of a building with essential fire safety measures provides an annual fire safety statement, so a provider taking on a supported accommodation building needs to know which measures it holds.
Whole or part of a building
An OC can cover a whole building or part of one. On a project with several dwellings, that lets finished dwellings be occupied while work continues elsewhere on the site, as long as the occupied part is safe and separated from the works.
How it works on a modular project
A module built in a factory is not certified on its own. The OC is issued for the completed building on its site, after the modules are installed and connected to the base structure and services, and the site works are finished.
The factory work still has to be evidenced. The inspection records and test results produced during fabrication are part of the trail the certifier relies on, as set out in who certifies a building constructed in a factory.
We carry each project through to a single Occupation Certificate handover, with one business answering for the design, the factory and the site.
Why it matters for special-use accommodation
For Specialist Disability Accommodation, the OC opens the door to what follows. The final as-built SDA certification and enrolment both come once the building is complete, as explained in how is an SDA dwelling enrolled.
Any item that holds up the OC holds up the day residents move in, and the day the building starts producing income. That is why the documents are gathered through construction rather than chased at the end, and why the package in handover documentation and as-built records is planned from the start.
MADEmodular / MADEbetter.
MADEmodular / MADEbetter.