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Elements and Performance Criteria

1. Scope and plan the building surveying audit.
   • Application and related documentation requesting building surveying audit are reviewed for property details and purpose of building surveying audit is clarified.
   • Scope and limitations of building surveying audit are determined and agreed criteria of the audit are negotiated with client and other relevant stakeholders.
   • Building plans and documentation are obtained where possible and reviewed prior to and during building surveying audit.
   • Building ownership, classification and current building use are confirmed and owner or owner’s corporation are contacted to arrange access to the building.
   • Compliance requirements for the building are identified and researched according to building classification, location, and potential change of use.
   • Work health and safety (WHS) requirements are identified and applied to the planning process.
   • Specialist consultants with relevant expertise are identified and engaged where appropriate.
   • Liaison with relevant stakeholders, including local planning authorities, is undertaken as required to confirm compliance requirements and relevant planning permissions.
2. Conduct building surveying audit.
   • Visual inspections of building interior and exterior are undertaken, construction elements of the building are noted and documented, and photographic evidence of the building is obtained according to workplace procedures.
   • Actual use of the building is confirmed, checked against compliance requirements, and documented.
   • Agreed elements of the building are evaluated against agreed criteria according to audit scope and limitations, and areas of non-compliance are documented.
   • Construction materials that may pose a risk to health and safety are documented and specialist consultants are engaged where appropriate to investigate and report on findings.
3. Produce building surveying audit report for client.
   • Audit scope, purpose, limitations and assumptions are specified in report.
   • Findings of building surveying audit are documented in an approved format with sufficient detail according to workplace procedures.
   • Findings and recommendations of specialist consultants are included in audit report.
   • Areas of non-compliance and strategies for upgrade works to ensure compliance or other requirements are documented according to workplace procedures, and estimated costings for recommended works are included where required.
   • Compliance strategies are prioritised and suggested timeframes to achieve compliance are provided according to workplace procedures.
   • Final audit report is provided to client and other relevant stakeholders according to workplace procedures.

Range Statement

This section specifies work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below.
Scope and limitations must specify whether the audit will include:	access asbestos and other hazardous materials egress energy efficiency fire services NCC compliance.
WHS requirements must include:	camera ladder personal protective equipment (PPE): goggles mask overalls tape measure torch.
Specialist consultants must include one or more of the following:	access consultants energy efficiency assessors fire services engineers geotechnical engineers heritage consultants hydraulic engineers mechanical engineers structural engineers waterproofing specialists.

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Performance Evidence

A person demonstrating competency in this unit must satisfy all of the elements, performance criteria and foundation skills of this unit. The person must plan for, conduct and report on building surveying audits for three different projects involving the following class buildings as defined in the Building Code of Australia (BCA), each building up to three storeys, where:

one project must incorporate classes 2, 5, 6 and 7a

one project must incorporate classes 3 or 9c

one project must incorporate classes 7b and 8.

Each of the building surveying audits must include:

a documented plan outlining the schedule of the building surveying audit, its scope and limitations, and the compliance criteria to be audited

evidence of research undertaken to identify the relevant compliance requirements of the building to be audited, including additional local planning policies that are to be included in the audit

liaison with relevant specialist consultants to obtain expert advice and recommendations on aspects of the building systems and materials, construction materials or methods or other relevant components of the building

a written report on the completed building surveying audit specifying:

inclusions and exclusions of the building surveying audit conducted

items of the building which were compliant or which met deemed-to-satisfy provisions of the BCA

items of the building that did not meet compliance requirements

findings and recommendations of specialist consultants

strategies for achieving compliance in areas where non-compliance was observed, including the level of priority for each area of non-compliance.

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Knowledge Evidence

A person demonstrating competency in this unit must demonstrate knowledge of:

audit methodology

audit report inclusions

BCA classification and definitions for buildings included in classes 2 to 9

construction methods and materials suitable for buildings in classes 2 to 9

drawing symbols, notations, acronyms and construction terminology used in the National Construction Code (NCC), Australian standards, working drawings, building design specifications and building permit documentation

roles and responsibilities of specialist consultants

processes for writing building surveying audit reports, including use of assumptions.

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