Discussion paper: National Registration Framework for Building Practitioners

The only risk I can foresee is having differing legislation and differing registration criteria between states. It is essential that all states and territories have a standard form of legislation to prevent practitioners çherry-picking which state or territory that they will obtain their base registration in because that state or territory has the easiest compliance requirements.

Registered Practitioners will need to ensure that their work complies with the NCC on all occasions otherwise they will lose their registration on a national basis.

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As there are no formal qualifications in Australia for Fire Systems Engineers there should be only one level for Fire Systems Designers. Currently there is not a registered training Organisation (RTO) running any course providing an AQF8 level qualification in the design of fire and Life Safety Systems The only specialised qualification is the Diploma of Fire Systems Design which is an AQF5 level qualification. Fire Safety Engineers are generally not qualified or experienced in the actual design of Fire and life Safety Systems. They usually provide a report outlining the types of systems to be installed and the performance levels of those systems that is necessary to comply with their report that has been produced based on their fire safety modelling for a particular building. The Fire Systems Designer designs the systems in compliance with the report.

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The descriptions should be amended to remove the restrictions on levels of complexity. An experienced Diploma qualified Designer should be able to design fire systems for all types of buildings no matter how complex they are. The main criteria is that they are qualified to design the particular type of system that they are designing . The diploma has streams that cover the types of systems that form the overall Fire and Life Safety package for a building.

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Fire systems designers should hold the Diploma of Fire Systems Design applicable to the type of system that they are designing. If they are not yet qualified (under training) they should be supervised by a suitably qualified and experience Designer.

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As the designing of Fire and Life Safety Systems is a specialised area all people designing and detailing fire systems should hold the Diploma of Fire systems Design. If a person is preparing working drawings for installing fire systems should also hold the Diploma as they would be responsible for the performance capability of the system.
Degree qualified engineers should also hold the Diploma as a specialised post-graduate qualification if they wish to design Fire Systems. Degree qualified Mechanical and Electrical Engineers who design smoke control systems or emergency and exit lighting systems should complete a post-graduate couse in these areas to ensure that they are suitably qualified and skilled to design these particular safety systems especially as they often interface with other fire and life safety systems.

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As it takes a minimum of 3 years for A fire Systems designer to gain the level of experience that is considered necessary to be able to desigh these systems without direct supervision this should be the minimum level of experience required to gain registration. This should be required even if the Designer has obtained the Diploma of Fire Systems Design before the three years is completed.
There could be three levels of registration to designate a level of experience as follows:
Level 3 - Trainee Designer where the Designer must be supervised at all times.
Level 2 - A diploma qualified Designer who also has a minimum of 3 years of experience that must be checked when handling complex work.
Level 1 - A diploma qualified designer who has a minimum of 5 years experience designing systems for all types of buildings and complexities. Capable of working unsupervised and can interact with authorities controlling fire and life safety systems.

Fire and Life Safety Systems Designers who design multiple types of Fire and Life Safety Systems for all types of buildings should be required to be diploma qualified for every system that they design. This is particularly important Designers who work as Design Consultants for building services consulting engineers.
This is easily achieved as the Diploma Course recognises prior qualifications therefore it would only be necessary to complete the specialised units for each particular stream of the Diplomas.
For far too long the Design of Fire Safety Systems has been carried out by unqualified people who often have only minimal experience skill and understanding of those systems and think that it is only necessary to read the relevant australian Standard to be able to design those systems.

Having two levels of building surveyors will ensure that the relevant building surveyor is capable of handling a large complex building that than 3 storeys in height. It also allows a building surveyor who is deemed unsuitable for some types of buildings to be downgraded to Level 2 building Surveying thus not losing their livelyhood entirely . If they are still unsuitable they can then be stripped of their registration.

The NRF is probably the most important step in the building and construction industry that has occurred in many years and should be pursued as a matter of national importance.