In the ACT, building surveyors must be licensed under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 and meet all the eligibility requirements.

Licence classes

Each licence class has different scopes of work and may be subject to conditions. You need to know the licence class you are eligible for before applying.

Principal building surveyor

  • Perform building certification work or supervise building certification work on behalf of a corporation.

Principal building surveyor employee

  • Perform building certification work as an employee of a principal building surveyor.
  • Usually applied for by an individual who works under a licensed building surveyor corporation's insurance policy.

General building surveyor

  • Perform building certification work or supervise building certification work on behalf of a corporation in relation to a building that is three storeys or lower and that has a floor area of 2000m2 or less.

General building surveyor employee

  • Perform building certification work in relation to a building that is three storeys or lower and that has a floor area of 2000m2 or less, as an employee of a principal building surveyor or general building surveyor.
  • Usually applied for by an individual who works under a licensed building surveyor corporation’s insurance policy.

Eligibility

You need certain qualifications to apply for a building surveyor licence. These are explained in the Construction Occupations (Licensing) (Qualifications) Declaration 2024.

Where multiple methods are listed for a licence class, you are only required to meet one of the methods listed.

Accreditation

You must be accredited under the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS) National Accreditation Scheme in the category required by the licence class you are applying for.

Online course

For applications made on or after 1 September 2019 you must have, within one year of making the application, successfully completed the Introduction to the ACT Building Regulatory System online course.

Examination

You must undertake and pass an assessment set by the Construction Occupations Registrar.

Insurance evidence

You must provide evidence of insurance coverage before you can be licensed, to cover:

  • indemnity against claims for breach of professional duty as a building surveyor
  • a minimum limit of indemnity of $1,000,000 for a single claim
  • a minimum limit of indemnity of $1,000,000 for the total of all claims made against the applicant during the period of cover
  • a minimum limit of indemnity for the costs and expenses of defending or settling a claim of 20% of the limit of the indemnity for the claim (this is in addition to the indemnities mentioned in points two and three).

Interstate licence holders

You may be able to apply for an ACT licence if you’re already licensed in another state or territory. Find out more about mutual recognition.

Start your application

To start your building surveyor licence application, collect your evidence and review the fees. Then complete and lodge an Application for construction occupation licence - individual building surveyor (also available as a PDF).

Note: you can start an online application and save it to return to later. Your application won't be submitted until the documents are lodged and fee paid.

Timeframe

The preliminary assessment of your application will take at least four weeks.

If your application is incomplete, or we need more information or verification, the assessment will take more time. Requests for more information will be sent to you via email.

Assessments of applications will not be fast tracked in any circumstances.

Your responsibilities

If granted a building surveyor licence, you are responsible for the administration and requirements of that licence. This includes:

  • complying with your obligations under the legislative framework
  • undertaking work in a proper and skilful way
  • understanding the requirements for insurances, contracts and other obligations

Additional qualification requirements for new building surveyor applicants

To be eligible for a new building surveyor licence in the ACT from 1 September 2019, you will need to complete an online course on the ACT building regulatory system.

From 1 November 2019, in addition to the online course, applicants for new building surveyor licences will also need to complete an assessment set by the Construction Occupations Registrar.

The purpose of the assessment is to determine whether applicants have an adequate level of knowledge about the obligations of a building surveyor licensee in the ACT and the ability to read, interpret and apply relevant information to meet their obligations.

The new assessments cover the ACT building regulatory system, a building surveyor licensee's obligations and rights under the ACT regulatory system and test the ability to interpret and apply building laws, codes and standards across a range of question types.

Details of assessment times and venues will be provided to applicants when they apply, and there will be additional study materials to help people prepare for the assessment.