When is a Regulation 126 required?

Due to the complex nature of Engineering, it is often these engineering solutions, computations, drawings are often outside the Relevant Building Surveyor's field of expertise. If a Relevant Building Surveyor does not have the skills to ensure a design is compliant or not, the Relevant Building Surveyor should arrange for independent checking and certification to be satisfied that compliance is achieved. Therefore, they rely on this design certificate issued under Victoria Building Regulation 126 (Reg. 126 certificate of compliance.) This allows the Relevant Building Surveyor to rely on the expertise of another building practitioner rather than having to understand and accept the engineering computation themselves. A Reg 126 certificate removes design responsibility for  from the Relevant Building Surveyor and places it with the Engineer and the issuer of the Reg. 126 design certificate.

Why Regulation 126?

Regulation 126 is another form of independent peer review. This process is typically carried out by professionals within the same engineering discipline to verify that there are no errors in the engineering design.  Reviews are more reliable when performed by peers with the same professional background and expertise.  It creates that extra confidence required that your project has been checked and verified by a third party Professional Engineer, and it is a well-accepted process in the engineering world.  Engineering peer reviews may be carried out to enhance quality assurance, risk management, constructability, cost, or code compliance. Its goal is to improve the quality and safety of designs, reduces risk and increase confidence that your project has been designed in accordance to NCC, relevant Australian Standards and manufacturer's specifications.

What does the Reg 126 looks like?

Here is an example on what you should expect Regulation 126 Certificate of Compliance for building work to look like.

Is this required for Building Permit application?

Yes. In Victoria, in order to complete your Building Permit application, your Building Surveyor may request a Certificate of Compliance from us pertaining to your proposed development. This document gives you and your Building Surveyor confidence that all design work has been completed by us to the required standards as set by the Victorian Building Authority.

Together with the Certificate of Compliance, three sets of all design and drawing documentation must be provided to the Building Surveyor. Each and every document must be certified with a structural adequacy approval and signed and dated by a Registered Building Practitioner of the category and class ‘Civil Engineer’ (us).  These documents may be issued in hard copy or digital format. Once the Building Surveyor approves the Building Permit application, one complete set of the certified documentation is forwarded to each of the applicant (person applying for the building permit) and the local Council. The third set is retained by the Building Surveyor.

Who can issue Certificate of Compliance?

A certificate of compliance may be issued and relied upon in relation to a design of building work of any Class, the inspection of domestic building work, or the erection of prescribed temporary structures. The certificate must state the proposed building work, or as constructed building work, complies with provisions of the Act and the Regulations. Regulation 126 requires the certificate to be issued in a form approved by the VBA, click here for a sample certificate by ArchiEng.

The certificate must be addressed to the RBS, a municipal building surveyor or a private building surveyor. Where the certificate is for proposed building work, it must relate to the final design. Certificates relating to design may be issued by a prescribed engineer in the relevant class of engineer, or a building surveyor registered under Part 11 of the Act.

We are Chartered Professional Engineers CPEng, Registered Professional Engineer Queensland (RPEQ) and registered under Business Licensing Authority (BLA) in Victoria as Licensed Professional Engineer, which in accordance to The Professional Engineers Registration Act 2019, qualified to review and issue Reg 126 Certificate Of Compliance.

For more information, please visit Consumer Affairs Victoria at this link.
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How long does it takes?

Depends on the complexity of the project.

For a smaller projects, say 10 pages of computation, 10 pages of drawings, a Regulation 126 can typically be issued within 48 hours.

For larger projects, up to 50 pages of computations and 50 pages of drawings, it can take up to a week to carry out the review.
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Sometimes, we might request for additional computation or drawings, which may take longer time, so it depends on the turnaround from clients too.

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How much for Reg 126?

Again, that depends on number of hours required to review the project.

For construction material testing, straight forward concrete test cost around $350-450.

For a smaller projects, say 10 pages of computation, 10 pages of drawings, a Regulation 126 can cost around $550-900.

For larger projects, up to 50 pages of computations and 50 pages of drawings, it can range from $1,000 - $2,500 per project.

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