Strata Remedial Works: Who's the Design Practitioner?

Strata remedial projects have a procurement chain that looks nothing like new construction. An owners corporation votes to fix concrete spalling. A strata manager engages a consulting engineer. The engineer writes a scope and specification. A contractor prices it. Subcontractors do the work. Sometimes a second or third consultant is involved for waterproofing or facades.

Somewhere in that chain, someone is a design practitioner under the DBPA. Most people in the chain assume it's someone else.

The Strata Remedial Chain

A typical strata remedial project flows like this:

1. Owners corporation identifies a defect (concrete cancer, water ingress, facade deterioration)
2. Strata manager obtains quotes or engages a consultant
3. Consulting engineer inspects, diagnoses, and produces a scope of works and specification
4. Contractor is engaged to carry out the remediation
5. Subcontractors perform the physical repair work

The question the DBPA forces you to answer: who in this chain is designing building elements on a Class 2 or above building?

The answer is usually straightforward. Whoever designs the remediation solution is the design practitioner. In most strata remedial projects, that's the consulting engineer. Not the strata manager. Not the contractor. Not the owners corporation.

Scenario 1: The Consulting Engineer Writes the Spec

This is the most common arrangement. A strata manager engages a remedial engineer to investigate concrete spalling on a 1980s apartment block. The engineer inspects, prepares a condition report, and produces a remediation specification — concrete repair methodology, patch repair details, protective coatings, drainage corrections.

That specification is a regulated design. It prescribes how building elements on a Class 2 building are to be repaired or altered. The engineer who produced it is the design practitioner and carries the full suite of DBPA obligations: registration, Design Compliance Declaration, Portal lodgement, record keeping.

Many remedial engineers don't frame their work this way. They think of themselves as producing a "scope for the contractor" rather than a regulated design. The DBPA doesn't care what you call it. If it specifies how a building element is to be constructed, repaired, or altered on a Class 2+ building, it's a regulated design.

Scenario 2: The Contractor Proposes an Alternative

Sometimes the original consultant specifies one repair method, but the contractor proposes an alternative — a different concrete repair system, a proprietary coating, a modified drainage detail. If the contractor simply substitutes materials within the consultant's design intent, the original consultant typically remains the design practitioner.

But if the contractor has an in-house engineer who designs a fundamentally different remediation approach — different structural details, different waterproofing system, different facade fixing methodology — that in-house engineer is also a design practitioner for their scope of work. They carry their own DBPA obligations, independent of the original consultant.

This creates a situation where two design practitioners exist on the same project, each responsible for their respective designs. Both need to be registered. Both need to lodge declarations.

Scenario 3: Multiple Consultants, Multiple Practitioners

Large strata remedial projects often involve several disciplines. A structural engineer specifies concrete repairs. A waterproofing consultant designs membrane replacement for podium decks. A facade engineer designs cladding remediation or window replacements.

Each consultant is a design practitioner for their own scope. Each carries independent DBPA obligations. Each must lodge their own Design Compliance Declaration on the Portal.

The coordination challenge is real. If the waterproofing design relies on the structural engineer's repair detail being completed first, or the facade design interfaces with the waterproofing termination, those interfaces need to be documented. The Building Commission checks for integration between disciplines — and strata remedial projects with three consultants working independently are exactly where integration gaps appear.

The "No Certifier" Trap

Here's where strata remedial projects diverge sharply from new construction. In new builds, the principal certifier acts as a checkpoint — they request DCDs, check registrations, and flag gaps before work proceeds. The DBPA compliance workflow has a built-in gatekeeper.

Many strata remedial projects don't involve a certifier at all. The work is commissioned directly by the owners corporation through their strata manager. No development application. No construction certificate. No one checking whether the design practitioner is registered or whether a DCD has been lodged.

The obligations still apply. The DBPA doesn't condition its requirements on the involvement of a certifier. If you're designing building elements on a Class 2+ building, you must comply — regardless of whether anyone is checking.

The absence of a certifier doesn't create an exemption. It creates a blind spot. And blind spots are where the Building Commission finds the most non-compliance.

Who Gets Audited

When the Building Commission audits a strata remedial project, they audit the design practitioner — the engineer who produced the remediation design. They don't audit the strata manager. They don't audit the contractor. They don't audit the owners corporation.

This matters because the strata manager is often the one managing the project administration. If the strata manager doesn't know to ask about DBPA compliance, and the engineer doesn't volunteer it, the gap persists until an audit surfaces it. By then, the engineer is the one answering questions — not the strata manager who engaged them.

What Strata Managers Should Be Asking

Strata managers aren't design practitioners and don't carry DBPA obligations themselves. But they are the ones engaging consultants on behalf of owners corporations, and they can protect their clients by asking the right questions upfront:

• "Are you registered as a design practitioner under the DBPA?" — If the consultant is designing building elements on a Class 2+ building, they need to be registered. If they can't confirm registration, that's a red flag.
• "Will you lodge a Design Compliance Declaration on the Portal?" — This is the clearest indicator that the consultant understands their obligations.
• "Is your company registered as a body corporate design practitioner?" — If the consultant practises through a Pty Ltd, the company itself must hold a separate registration.
• "How will you coordinate with the other consultants on this project?" — If multiple disciplines are involved, someone needs to manage the interfaces.

These questions don't make the strata manager responsible for compliance. But they surface problems before work starts rather than after the Building Commission arrives.

The Bottom Line

Strata remedial projects are regulated design work hiding in plain sight. The procurement chain is unfamiliar. The certifier is often absent. The consultant thinks they're writing a scope, not producing a regulated design. And the strata manager assumes someone else is handling the compliance.

None of that changes the obligation. If you design how a building element on a Class 2+ building is to be repaired, you're a design practitioner. Act like one.