Please note: It is against the law to start construction without a valid Construction Certificate. If any private certifier finds construction has proceeded without the necessary documents, or inspections have not been arranged for each mandatory critical stage of the development, then the applicant will be referred to their local council to apply for a building certificate. The Principal Certifying Authority (PCA) is bound by law to issue the applicant with ‘An Notice of Intention to Issue an Order.
This advises the applicant to remedy the works completed outside of their consent or to obtain approval from council for the deviation of works from consent. Usually this notice allows the applicant 21 days to fulfil the requirements.
If the PCA is not satisfied the applicant has remedied the situation within the nominated time frame, then the PCA does not have any choice other than to advise the local council to issue an Order. In most cases the applicant will be fined. Therefore, if the applicant does not follow the recommended order of inspections or ‘jumps ahead’ with inspections, they will be unlikely to find any certifier in NSW who will take the situation lightly.