STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS
FOR EMAILS AND COMMUNICATIONS AND THE PROVISION OF BUILDING CONSULTANCY & ONLINE LODGEMENT OF BUILDING APPLICATIONS FOR BUILDING SURVEYING AND ALL ASSOCIATED SERVICES
The below terms and conditions are for the provision of our building consultancy and our third party designated registered building surveyors professional building surveying and all other related services, between EXPRESS PERMITS APPROVED herein referred to as “EXPRESS” and the Client (property owner/ or authorized agent of owner) and furthermore, the person responsible for submitting a building permit application online via email or using a/the online portal or by manual submission process.
EXPRESS PERMITS is a “permit expeditor” and we take you through the process using third party building surveyors. We assist you the owner/applicant/builder in getting the reports for the application file together and lodging with a RBS. EXPRESS compiles reports(paid for by owner/applicant) and EXPRESS does planning, site visits, procures information (where agreed), does admin and handles builder questions as a builder, EXPRESS is not a building surveyor and uses a licensed RBS registered building surveyor. The RBS is a separate business from EXPRESS. You appoint EXPRESS and their respective employees and or contractors and or designated parties registered as Building Surveyors herein referred to as “RBS” (directly using their form) to act as the Relevant Building Surveyor for the building work on the project (“RBS”) pursuant to the provisions of the Building Act 1993 (“Act”) and the Building Regulations 2018 (“Regulations”) and we accept the appointment under the following conditions:
- Our obligations or RBS obligations
1.1 OUR designated RBS as appointed by you, is to Assess your application for a Building Permit under the Act, Regulations and National Construction Code (NCC) deemed to satisfy relevant controls.
1.2 Liaise with RBS who will assess and if appropriate issue a building permit.
1.3 Assist where paid, with inputs to RBS to collect and remit the applicable Building Permit levy to the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) if required.
1.4 Assist where paid, with inputs to RBS to assess and if appropriate issue the applicable occupancy permit or certificate of final inspection.
1.5 Assist where paid, with inputs to RBS to provide copies of all relevant permit documents to the council and any other required parties.
1.6 RBS to issue statutory directions notices or orders if necessary in our discretion for the proper completion of the building work.
1.7 Assist RBS to arrange Inspections, where engaged to do so
(i) RBS to conduct mandatory inspections as specified on the Building Permit either internally or by sub contractors;
(ii) RBS conduct any further inspections either internally or by sub contractors where either requested by you or required in our discretion for the proper completion of the building work.
- Your obligations
2.1 Provide us with all consents & information required to enable us to perform our role;
2.2 Pay our fees & pay third party reports and consents & pay RBS fees and disbursements as set out below and in accordance with condition 3 below.
2.3 Comply with all your other obligations under this terms and conditions document.
2.4 You /owner are to provide all section 173 compliances and all satisfactions/resolutions/compliance to any covenant or caveats and easement consents.
- Fees and disbursements
3.1 Schedule 2 of the Building Act 1993 requires an application for a Building Permit to be accompanied by the fee determined by the RBS. You the client must therefore pay this fee when submitting your application online for the Building Permit to our company unless other Payment Terms have been granted by EXPRESS and RBS . All accounts are to be settled in full within the agreed trading terms noted on the Invoice. These terms will only continue if payment is maintained in accordance with the agreed trading terms.
3.2 Fees for assessing any request to extend a time limit in any approval issued by us will be charged at the applicable rate at the time.
3.3 Fees for assessing any request for variations to the approved permit documents will be charged at the applicable rate at the time.
3.4 Fees for the administration of Building Notices, Building Order to Stop Work, Building Orders for Minor Works and Building Orders will be charged at the applicable rate at the time.
3.5 File retrieval requests will incur a retrieval fee charged at the applicable rate at the time, plus a fee for copies of documents requested.
3.6 For all other activity conducted please contact EXPRESS and RBS to confirm any potential fees/charges that may be chargeable at the applicable rate at the time.
3.7 You agree that we /RBS are not obliged to issue the Building Permit or any other documentation unless our invoice has been paid in full or you have trading terms as outlined on the invoice.
3.8 You agree that any unpaid account within the trading/payment terms applicable to your work will result in EXPRESS and the RBS “locking” your file/s. EXPRESS and RBS may, at any stage, be entitled to withhold supply of goods or services until any outstanding invoices have been paid to the satisfaction of EXPRESS and RBS . No further work may be undertaken until any/all outstanding account/s are finalised.
3.9 If a Building Permit application or building approval is cancelled or withdrawn at your request we are not obliged to refund to you any fees or disbursements paid, subject to refund Clause 3.11 below.
3.10 All fees and disbursements referred to in this agreement are shown plus GST which must be paid at the same time as the relevant fees and disbursements.
3.11 Refund Policy – NO REFUNDS. We DO NOT provide refunds unless requested to do so in writing. In our absolute discretion we may refund and any refunds given will exclude any disbursements already made for Council Lodgement fees and/or building levies and for any labour/services/costs and our time and due skill and attention incurred up to that point. OUR DECISION IS FINAL.
- Warranties
You warrant to us (which we will rely on) that:
4.1 You are the owner of the project or the duly authorised agent of the owner. If acting as the agent, and requested by us, you will produce written authority of the owner authorising you to act on their behalf;
4.2 That no other building surveyor has been appointed (or has otherwise commenced duties) in relation to the building work or the project.
4.3 You will provide, or ensure, a safe workplace for all our employees and contractors. Inspections requested where adequate safety measures are not in place will be refused and recharged at the applicable rates. Re-inspections will not be carried out unless you have provided us with written verification of a safe workplace.
4.4 Only compliant and approved building products have been used on your project (including cladding), and all products have been installed in accordance with any relevant manufacturer’s instructions and/or standard industry practices.
- Acknowledgements
You acknowledge that:
5.1 You are responsible for obtaining (including the cost of) any required planning permit and will provide us with a copy of the planning permit and approved planning permit drawings. RBS are not required to issue a building permit until we /RBS receive any required planning permit and approved planning permit drawings.
5.2 This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between us and you may not rely on any oral discussions or representations made prior to or at the time of signing this agreement.
5.3 We are not building surveyors ourselves, we are builders (Tasmania), we are not estimators, not land surveyors, not quantity surveyors or we do not act as project managers/site supervisors and you have not engaged us to provide any of those services.
5.4 You must notify us in writing of each building practitioner engaged by you or on your behalf for the building work, including details of any building practitioner certificate issued to the building practitioner under Part 11 of the Act. Such notice must be given either upon our appointment (where you have already engaged a building practitioner) or within fourteen days of engaging the building practitioners (where the building practitioner(s) is/are engaged after our appointment);
5.5 You may terminate our appointment only by using a method as provided and approved by the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), and that upon such termination EXPRESS and RBS are entitled to payment of all fees and disbursements incurred to the date of termination.
5.6 All Building Permits via our RBS issued have stipulated on them mandatory timeframes by which the approved building work must commence and must be completed. If you require an extension of time for any of these time limits you must make a formal written request on the appropriate form stating the reasons why a time limit extension should be granted. Relevant fees will apply.
5.7 RBS Building Notices, Building Orders for Minor Work, Building Order to Stop Work and Building Orders are formal documents prescribed in the Act and the Regulations to be served when breaches and non-compliance in building work are identified. Such notices and orders are required to be served as a matter of course for areas of non-compliance or where safety is or may be compromised. In the case of routine rectification works we will normally send an inspection report or letter (as applicable) and in the event of non-response, or an insufficient response within an appropriate time, further action may be taken where further fees may become payable.
5.8 EXPRESS and RBS make no repetitions or warranties that the building works are commercially viable.
5.9 EXPRESS and RBS ’s appointment is limited to ensuring the building work carried out complies with the Act and Regulations that are applicable at the time.
5.10 Any Building Permit issued will be an assessment of the drawings for compliance with the Act and Regulations and not the serviceability, quality or functionality of the building work approved by the permit.
5.11 You will be able to gain any required dispensations, if required by the local council and/or other authorities;
5.12 That in properly fulfilling our statutory duties, we will take such time to investigate and determine applications for the Building Permit and/or Occupancy Permits or Certificates of Final Inspection as reasonably required.
5.13 EXPRESS and RBS will rely on the accuracy and completeness of all information supplied by you in performing our obligations under this agreement.
5.14 You understand that the Building Permit for your project may be delayed if all relevant documentation is not supplied.
- Release
To the greatest extent possible at law you release us from any and all liability for any costs, loss, claims or demands arising from:
(a) Our decision not to issue a Building Permit and/or Occupancy Permits or Certificates of Final Inspection;
(b) any liability of yours to third parties arising from or in relation to:
(i) building work performed by you or on your behalf;
(ii) the performance of our role as Relevant Building Surveyor (including the time we take to perform that role), and any decision by us not to issue the Building Permit and/or Occupancy Permits or Certificates of Final Inspection (as required).
- Indemnity
You indemnify us from any costs, loss, claims or demands arising from or in relation to:
(a) building work performed by you or on your behalf or by the builder;
(b) the performance of our role as the Relevant Building Surveyor (including the time we take to perform that role), and any decision by us not to issue the Building Permit and/or Occupancy Permits or Certificates of Final Inspection (as required);
- Additional Work
If you request us to perform additional services that are not included in the scope of services described in this agreement, we are not obliged to proceed with such additional work until you provide us with a written request, which we may or may not agree to.
Any additional work we agree to perform, requested or required by:
8.1 you; or
8.2 the proper performance of our role as relevant building surveyor; or
8.3 the Act or Regulations will be invoiced and must be paid within seven days.
- Amendments and Variations to the Building work
9.1 Any and all variations to the approved permit documents requested by you will be assessed only when accompanied by a written request with sufficient details to enable us to properly assess the variations accompanied by the relevant administration fee as determined by EXPRESS and RBS and based on the nature of the variation sought.
- Inspections
10.1 EXPRESS and RBS , or our authorised sub contract inspectors, will carry out the mandatory inspections listed on the Building Permit. You are responsible for ensuring that we are given adequate notification for inspections (by no later than 3.00 pm the prior working day), and ensuring that works do not continue beyond the notification stage until the inspection is approved. Should inspections be cancelled, postponed or not be ready, then additional inspection charges will apply at the applicable rate at the time.
10.2 Inspections carried out will be the minimum required to ensure compliance with the Act and Regulations and will not involve supervision of the building work. It is your responsibility (if you are the builder), or that of the builder, to construct the building work fully in accordance with the approved permit documents.
- Interpretation
11.1 “You” includes, jointly and severally, the owner of the project and, if the applicant for the approvals to be issued by us is not the owner, then the applicant. “You” also includes your successors and assignees. “We or us” includes our successors and assignees.
11.2 These terms and conditions are not to be interpreted in favour or against any party solely on the basis of which party prepared the document.
11.3 These terms and conditions may only be varied in writing between the parties.
By agreeing with these terms and conditions both parties agree to a legally binding agreement within the jurisdiction of the
Courts and Laws of Victoria.