Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2006 - Glossary of Definitions

building_act_1993 The Building Act 1993 and Building Regulations 2006 provide the objectives and operational framework for building construction and control in Victoria. The following lists all the terms used in the legislation, with a glossary / definition of each term as it relates to building construction and control.

Appointed day - in relation to a class or category of building practitioners, means a day appointed for that class or category under section 6;

Adjoining occupier - means an occupier of an adjoining property;

Adjoining owner - means the owner of an adjoining property;

Adjoining property - means land (including any street, highway, lane, footway, square, alley and right of way) which is so situated in relation to the site on which building work is to be carried out as to be at risk of significant damage from the building work

Allotment - means land that can be disposed of separately under section 8A of the Sale of Land Act 1962 without being subdivided

Alteration - means construction in relation to an existing building

Approved - means approved by the relevant building surveyor

AS 2118.1-1999 means AS 2118.1-1999 Automatic fire sprinkler systems-Part 1: General requirements, published 5 December 1999, as published from time to time

AS 2118.4-1995 - means AS 2118.4-1995 Automatic fire sprinkler systems-Part 4: Residential, published 5 April 1995, as published from time to time

BCA - means the Building Code of Australia

BCA Volume One - means Volume One of the National Construction Code Series including any variations or additions in the Appendix Victoria set out in the Appendices to that Volume

BCA Volume Two - means Volume Two of the National Construction Code Series including any Victoria additions set out in Appendix A of that Volume

Building - includes structure, temporary building, temporary structure and any part of a building or structure

Building Advisory Council - means the Building Advisory Council

Building Appeals Board - means the Building Appeals Board

Building Code of Australia - means the Building Code of Australia comprising-
(a) Volume One of the National Construction Code Series including any variations or additions in the Appendix Victoria set out in the Appendices to that Volume; and
(b) Volume Two of the National Construction Code Series including any Victoria additions set out in Appendix A of that Volume;

Building Practitioners Board - means the Building Practitioners Board

Building practitioner - means-
(a) a building surveyor; or
(b) a building inspector; or
(c) a quantity surveyor; or
(d) an engineer engaged in the building industry; or
(e) a draftsperson who carries on a business of preparing plans for building work or preparing documentation relating to permits or permit applications; or
(f) a builder including a domestic builder; or
(g) a person who erects or supervises the erection of prescribed temporary structures; or
(h) a person responsible for a building project or any stage of a building project and who belongs to a class or category of people prescribed to be building practitioners- but does not include-
(i) an architect; or
(j) a person (other than a domestic builder) who does not carry the business of building

Building Regulations Advisory Committee - means the Building Regulations
Advisory Committee

Building regulations - means regulations as referenced in the legislation.

Building work - means work for or in connection with the construction, demolition or removal of a building;

Business day - means a day that is not-
(a) a Saturday or Sunday; or
(b) a day that is wholly or partly observed as a public holiday throughout Victoria

Bushfire performance requirement - means performance requirement P2.3.5 of the BCA Volume Two to the extent that it relates to fire safety for a Class 10c building associated with a Class 1 building

Certificate of consent - means a certificate of consent under the legislation

Chief Officer - means-
(a) in relation to the metropolitan fire district under the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Act 1958, the Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services; and (b) in relation to any building or land outside the metropolitan fire district, the Chief Officer of the Country Fire Authority under the Country Fire Authority Act 1958

Clear to the sky - means an unroofed area or an area roofed with a material that transmits at least 90% of light

Commission - means the Building Commission under the legislation

Commissioner - means the Commissioner of the Building Commission under the legislation

Conduct - in relation to a public entertainment, means to have a direct pecuniary interest in the proceeds or profits of the entertainment

Construct - in relation to a building, includes-
(a) build, re-build, erect or re-erect the building; and
(b) repair the building; and
(c) make alterations to the building; and
(d) enlarge or extend the building; and
(e) place or relocate the building on land; cooling tower has the same meaning as it has in section 3(1) of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008

Cooling tower system - has the same meaning as it has in section 3(1) of the
Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008;

Council - means a council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 19892

Decision - in relation to a matter in respect of which an appeal can be made to the Building Appeals Board, includes failure to decide

Decision-maker - in relation to a matter in respect of which an appeal can be made to the Building Appeals Board, means the person or body whose decision may be the subject of that appeal

Declared road - means a freeway or an arterial road within the meaning of the Road Management Act 2004

Domestic builder - means a builder within the meaning of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995

Domestic building work - has the same meaning as it has in the
Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995

Drainage authority means-
(a) in relation to any area to which Part X of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works Act 1958 applies, the Melbourne Water Corporation; and
(b) in relation to any other area, the Authority to which Division 3 of Part 10 of the Water Act 1989 applies for that area

Electricity supply authority - has the same meaning as Electricity Corporation has in section 85 of the Electricity Industry Act 2000

Farm land - means farm land as defined in section 2 of the Valuation of Land Act 1960

Fire performance requirement - means-
(a) performance requirement BP1.1, DP2, DP3, DP4 or DP6 of the BCA Volume One (to the extent that it relates to fire safety); or
(b) performance requirement CP1, CP2, CP3, CP4, CP5, CP6, CP7, CP8, CP9, DP5, EP1.1, EP1.2, EP1.3, EP1.4, EP1.5, EP1.6, EP2.1 or EP2.2 of the BCA Volume One; or
(c) performance requirement P2.1, P2.3.1 or P2.3.2 of the BCA Volume Two (to the extent that it relates to fire safety for a Class 1b building and a Class 10 building not associated with a Class 1a building)

Fire safety engineer - means a registered building practitioner in the category of engineer, class of fire safety engineer

Floodplain management authority - means an Authority or Minister to which Division 4 of Part 10 of the Water Act 1989 applies

Form - means a form as stipulated in the legislation

Function - includes power, authority and duty

Gas supply authority means-
(a) in relation to an area served by a reticulated gas supply, a gas company within the meaning of the Gas Safety Act 1997; and
(b) in relation to pipelines for the conveyance of hydrocarbons, the Minister responsible for the Pipelines Act 1967

Height in relation to-
(a) a building (other than a wall or fence) at any point, means the vertical distance between natural ground level and the top of the roof covering; and
(b) a wall at any point, means the vertical distance between the natural ground level at the base of the wall and the point at which the outer wall intersects the plane of the top of the roof covering or the top of the parapet, whichever is higher; and
(c) a fence at any point, means the vertical distance between natural ground level at the base of the fence and the top of the fence

Insured architect - means an architect who is registered under the Architects Act 1991 and who is covered by the required insurance under that Act

Insurer - includes the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority established by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority Act 1996

Major domestic building contract - has the same meaning as it has in the
Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995

Mandatory notification stage - means a prescribed stage of building work;

Municipal building surveyor - means a person for the time being appointed, employed or nominated by a council as its municipal building surveyor for the purposes of this legislation

National Construction Code Series - means the National Construction Code Series published by the Australian Building Codes Board as amended or remade from time to time

Owner-
(a) in relation to land which has been alienated in fee by the Crown and is under the operation of the Transfer of Land Act 1958, (other than land in an identified folio under that Act) means the person who is registered or entitled to be registered as proprietor, or the persons who are registered or entitled to be registered as proprietors, of an estate in fee simple in the land; and

(b) in relation to land which has been alienated in fee by the Crown and is land in an identified folio under the Transfer of Land Act 1958 or land not under the operation of the Transfer of Land Act 1958, means the person who is the owner, or the persons who are the owners, of the fee or equity of redemption; and

(c) in relation to Crown land reserved under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 and managed or controlled by a committee of management, means the Minister administering that Act; and

(d) in relation to any other Crown land, means the Minister or public authority that manages or controls the land;

Owner in relation to a building - means the owner of the land on which a building is situated

Owner in relation to land - in the legislation a reference to the owner is a reference to the owner of land on which building work is proposed to be or is carried out.

Pergola - means an open structure that is unroofed but may have a covering of open weave permeable material

Permit - means building permit or occupancy permit;

Place of public entertainment - means-
(a) a prescribed building or building in a prescribed class of buildings which is used or intended to be used for the purpose of providing public entertainment; or
(b) a prescribed place or place in a prescribed class of places-
(i) which is enclosed or substantially enclosed; or
(ii) to which admission can be gained by payment of money or the giving of other consideration

and which is used or intended to be used for the purpose of providing public entertainment

Prescribed temporary structure - includes a temporary structure in a prescribed class of temporary structures;

Private building surveyor - means a building surveyor registered under the legislation other than-
(a) a municipal building surveyor; or
(b) an officer or employee of the Crown or a public authority; or
(c) a building surveyor authorised under the legislation in his or her capacity as such a municipal building surveyor, officer, employee or authorised building surveyor.

Private open space means-
(a) an unroofed area of land; or
(b) a deck, terrace, patio, balcony, pergola, verandah, gazebo or swimming pool

Proceeding - in relation to a proceeding of the Building Appeals Board, means-
(a) an appeal to that Board under the legislation; or
(b) a matter referred to that Board under the legislation; or
(c) an application to that Board under the legislation; or
(d) any other matter within that Board's jurisdiction that, by the Act or regulation conferring the jurisdiction, is declared to be a proceeding

Protection work - means-
(a) permanent or temporary work of-
(i) underpinning, including the provision of vertical support, lateral support, protection against variation in earth pressures, provision of ground anchors and other support for adjoining property; or
(ii) shoring up of adjoining property; or
(iii) overhead protection for adjoining property; or
(iv) other work designed to maintain the stability of adjoining property or to protect adjoining property from damage from building work; or

(b) any work or use of equipment necessary for the provision, maintenance and removal of work referred to in paragraph (a)- whether or not the work or equipment is carried out or used on, over, under or in the air space above the land on which the building work is or is to be carried out or the adjoining property

Public authority - means a body established for a public purpose by or under an Act and includes a council

Public entertainment - means an entertainment or meeting to which admission may ordinarily be gained by members of the public

Registered building practitioner - means a building practitioner registered under the legislation

Relevant building surveyor-
(a) in relation to an application to, or permit, approval, inspection, direction, notice or order issued or given by, a municipal building surveyor, means the municipal building surveyor; and
(b) in relation to an application to, or permit, approval, inspection, direction, notice or order issued or given by, a private building surveyor, means the private building surveyor; and
(c) in relation to the carrying out by the Commission of the functions of a municipal building surveyor or a function specified in section 199(5), means the Commission; and
(d) in relation to the carrying out by a building surveyor authorised under the legislation, of the functions of a municipal building surveyor, means the authorised building surveyor;

Relevant council - in relation to a building or land, means the council of the municipal district in which the building or land is situated;

Reporting authority - means a body or person (other than a municipal building surveyor or private building surveyor to whom an application is made) that is required by the legislation or by any other Act or regulations to report on or consent to an application for a permit

Required insurance - means the insurance required by order under the legislation and, in the case of insurance to which the legislation applies, complying with the legislation

Secretary to the Department of Health - means the Department Head (within the meaning of the Public Administration Act 2004) of the Department of Health

Septic tank system - has the same meaning as it has in Part IXB of the Environment Protection Act 1970

Setback from a boundary or building - means a horizontal distance from that boundary or building

Sewerage authority means-
(a) in relation to the metropolis under the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works Act 1958, the Melbourne Water Corporation; and
(b) in relation to a sewerage district under the Water Act 1989, the Authority for that district under that Act

Site coverage - means that part of an allotment, which is covered by buildings, expressed as a percentage of the area of the allotment

Standards New Zealand - is the trading arm of the Standards Council of New Zealand

Street - includes road, highway, carriageway, lane, footway, square, court, alley and right of way

Street alignment - means the line between a street and an allotment;

Temporary structure includes-
(a) a booth, tent, marquee or other temporary enclosure, whether or not a part of the booth, tent, marquee or enclosure is permanent; or
(b) a seating structure whether enclosed or not, including a mobile seating structure.

The Act - means the Building Act 1993

Water supply authority - means, in relation to a water district under the Water Act 1989, the Authority for that district under that Act.