Building and renovating: permits and processes

In 2017, experts were asked to assess building and construction systems to address public safety concerns about building standards Australia-wide.

You can read the Building Confidence Report on the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources website.

All states and territories committed to implementing the report recommendations.

As part of that commitment, Independent Third Party Review (ITPR) of some structural designs commenced in the Northern Territory in January 2022.

On 24 October 2025, the Building Regulations 1993 were amended to improve and clarify independent third party review criteria to ensure the focus is on structural works.

These changes eliminate the inadvertent referral of non-structural works for independent review by an independent structural engineer.

What's involved

ITPR is not a dual certification process.

The process is:

• informed by risk
• done by an NT registered certifying engineer (structural) with certain other qualifications
• paid for by the building approval applicant.

Building certifiers:

• must consider the ITPR before deciding on the building permit application to which it relates
• are not required to implement a recommendation of an ITPR.

The Building Regulations 1993 are to provide the:

• meaning of significant and complex buildings and building work
• qualifications and experience required by an independent review engineer
• elements of the structural design which must be reported on by the independent review engineer.

The ITPR framework is based on criteria for buildings of medium complexity or higher according to the definition of building complexity in the National Construction Code (NCC).

Guidelines

Read the reporting authorities – independent review engineers - guidelines PDF (998.4 KB) if you are:

• an applicant - owner or owner’s agent
• a building certifier
• a certifying engineer (structural)
• an independent review engineer.

Contact

To find an independent review engineer or apply to be on a list of independent review engineers, go to the Building Practitioners Board website.