Renew your licence!

On average, 5% of LBPs have their licence suspended every month simply because they haven’t renewed it.

While a number of Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) have been relicensed once or twice already; a surprising number are not renewing their licences on time and, as a result, about 5% are having them suspended every month!

Having your licence suspended stays on your public register record for three years, with the ‘Grounds for Suspension’ description stating: “Failure to comply with the conditions of licensing set out in section 293 of the Building Act 2004”.

In addition, if your licence is suspended, you cannot promote yourself as an LBP or carry out Restricted Building Work without being supervised and having your work signed off by an LBP with a current licence.

If you do not have the funds to pay your re-licensing fees, or are not currently practising, you can voluntarily suspend your licence and it will not affect your public register record. You can do this by filling out the form on the LBP website – www.lbp.govt.nz – under ‘I am an LBP’.

So, to avoid having your licence suspended, check the expiry date on your LBP card and record it in your diary!

How do I get relicensed?

To get relicensed you must:

• Earn the minimum number of points over 24 months specified in your licence class.
• Record your activities and claim one point for every hour of learning.

If you hold two or more licensing classes, you need the higher point allocation. For example, if you are licensed in Carpentry and Site and Design – area of practice 2, you need 36 points.

Keeping track of your points

You can update your skills maintenance records using the LBP online system or by recording your points in your work diary. If you choose the latter, you will need to update the ‘record of skills maintenance form’. When due, the Registrar will attach the ‘record of skills maintenance form’ with your annual relicensing.

Remember – using the online system, or updating your work diary as you go, is a great way to avoid last-minute panic trying to remember what you’ve done over the past 24 months.

What evidence do I need?

The Building Practitioners Board might ask to see evidence of your skills maintenance, so keep receipts and other evidence that shows what you’ve done. You should keep this evidence for a minimum of two years or longer, depending on your circumstances.

Examples of evidence include:

• Coupons from the back of Under Construction.
• Tertiary education – certificates or record of learning certificates.
• Emails, faxes or letters from the person who organised or paid for the activity.
• Pages printed from a website (or a URL noted).
• Handouts or meeting agendas.
• Photocopies of a DVD case or other learning tools.
• Seminar flyers or notices.
• Details on materials you have read e.g, issue and title.
• Documentation about on-the-job training (eg, induction, mentoring, or supervising an apprentice).

As long as you can reasonably show you did the activity, it is up to you to decide whether you keep a record. It’s a good idea to sign and date your evidence
– if it doesn’t already have a date on it
– and photocopy it where necessary

Example

Qualifications

Qualification

National Certificate in Carpentry

Licence Classes

License class	Status of License	Status reason	Date granted
Carpentry	Approved	Active	24 Aug 2011

Suspension History

License class	Date of decision	Suspension End Date	Grounds for Suspension	Condition(s) for termination of suspension
Carpentry	26 Sep 2013	–	Failure to comply with the conditions of licensing set out in section 293 of the Building Act 2004	BP pays required fees/levies, BP provides required information, Suspension period ends.
Carpentry	18 Sep 2012	8 Oct 2012	Failure to comply with the conditions of licensing set out in section 293 of the Building Act 2004	BP pays required fees/levies, BP provides required information, Suspension period ends.

Having your licence suspended appears as above on your public register for three years.