Time-sensitive
You failed an inspection, or your IQP will not sign
A system failed its inspection, or the IQP has told you they cannot issue a Form 12A.
What to do
- 01
Establish which of the two problems you have
A system that failed on condition is a repair. A system whose procedures were never carried out is a records problem, and no repair fixes it retrospectively.
- 02
Get the defect report in writing
You need to know exactly what failed and against which performance standard, not a verbal summary.
- 03
Price and schedule the remedial work
Ask for the quote to reference the defect report line by line, so you can see what you are paying for.
- 04
Have the system re-inspected once the work is done
Only then can a Form 12A be issued for it.
- 05
If procedures were missed rather than failed, talk to your council
There is a declaration route for this. It is not the same as a certificate, and the process varies between territorial authorities.
These are two different problems
They arrive looking identical — no certificate, anniversary approaching — but they need opposite responses.
A system failed on condition. It was inspected, and it did not meet its performance standard. A valve is seized, a detector is out of tolerance, a light does not hold its discharge. This is a repair job. Fix it, re-inspect it, get the certificate.
Procedures were not carried out. Nobody inspected it, or the quarterly checks stopped part-way through the year. This is not a repair job. You cannot retrospectively have inspected something, and this is where owners lose the most time — chasing a repair for a problem that is not mechanical.
Work out which one you have before you spend anything.
Why an IQP cannot simply sign
Section 108A of the Building Act says an independently qualified person must not state that the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures for a specified system have been complied with over the previous 12 months if they have not been fully complied with.
Breach carries a maximum fine of $50,000 for an individual and $150,000 for a body corporate. There are defences — reasonable mistake, reasonable reliance on information someone else supplied, or reasonable precautions and due diligence — but none of them covers knowingly signing for work that did not happen.
So when an IQP tells you they cannot issue a Form 12A, they are not being obstructive and the relationship has not broken down. They are telling you that the statute puts a personal criminal liability on that signature. It is, genuinely, the correct answer.
A second opinion is a reasonable thing to want
If you have a quote to fix a defect and it looks steep, that is hard to assess from the outside — you are being asked to price something you cannot evaluate.
We will send a technician, look at the actual fault, and give you a written second quote. If the first one was fair we will say so. See service and repair.
If the same thing keeps failing
Worth asking a different question. A component that fails in the same position year after year is usually telling you something about the position, not the component. Replacing it again will produce the same invoice next year.