Queries from clients and prospective clients are often a great source of material for our blog. We had a prospective customer ask us recently:
“If a Building Surveyor is used to manage Annual Essential Safety Measure Report compliance is that Building Surveyor [in Victoria, Australia] bound by their duty as a Registered Practitioner to report all design non-compliances of the existing ESM’s?”
We understood that the question relates to a “comment” in the Building Commission’s Essential Safety Measure Maintenance Manual that an owner may engage a Building Surveyor. The basis for this (contractual) engagement would be to inspect a site to identify and nominate the ESM. The Commission states this could be used to assist the owner with identifying the required records for the frequency and standard of maintenance for the ESM in the building.
When engaged to do the “identification and nominate ESM process only” the simple answer to this question is no (under the Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2006).
The evaluation and analysis, of the legislation, Commission’s manual, considering the implications of industry practice etc. required to arrive at this answer is a bit more complex and detailed. If you look at the question more broadly there is a whole pandora’s box of things to be considered. (more…)