Skills maintenance audits

Skills maintenance audits continuing

As an LBP, you must be able to provide accurate records showing how you have met your skills maintenance requirements.

Recent audits of LBP skills maintenance records showed that many practitioners are meeting their obligations. However, around 25% of the LBPs audited did not meet the skills maintenance requirements.

Skills maintenance audits will continue and be carried out more widely. They check whether LBPs have met their requirements and can provide accurate records of the learning and development activities they have completed.

The purpose of the audits is to support compliance early. They are not about catching people out. Many LBPs already learn through day-to-day work, training, mentoring, research, trade events, Codewords articles, and other professional development activities. The audits provide an opportunity to demonstrate that learning and ensure it can be verified if requested.

Why records matter

Skills maintenance is an important part of remaining licensed. It helps LBPs keep their knowledge and skills up to date as building work, standards, products, and practices continue to change.

Completing learning activities is only part of the requirement. LBPs must also be able to demonstrate what learning they completed during the skills maintenance cycle for each licence class they hold.

This includes:

• elective learning
• 2 examples of on-the-job learning
• the required Codewords articles and related quizzes.

Purpose of the audits

Skills maintenance audits support continued competence and confidence in the licensed building system. They help LBPs confirm they are meeting their obligations and identify areas that may need attention.

The audits encourage ongoing compliance and support LBPs to demonstrate the learning they already undertake as part of their work.

What an audit may check

If you are selected for an audit, you may be asked to provide evidence for your current skills maintenance cycle.

The audit may check whether you have:

• completed the required elective learning for your licence class or classes
• recorded 2 relevant examples of on-the-job learning
• read the required Codewords articles and completed the related quizzes
• retained information that supports the activities you have recorded.

The pilot audit found that many practitioners were completing suitable learning activities, but their records were incomplete or lacked sufficient detail.

Reviewing your records throughout the cycle will make it easier to show how you have met the requirements if selected for an audit.

If requirements are not met

If an audit identifies missing or incomplete information, you will have an opportunity to provide further evidence or update your records. The aim is to help you address any gaps and meet the requirements.

If you do not meet the applicable minimum standards for licensing, the Registrar may take further steps under section 293 of the Building Act 2004. This can include suspending your licence until you meet the required standards.

While a licence is suspended:

• the suspension is recorded in the register
• the suspended person cannot hold themselves out as an LBP
• the suspended person cannot carry out or supervise restricted building work unless they are appropriately supervised.

The Registrar can lift the suspension once satisfied that the person meets the applicable minimum standards for licensing.

If the issue is not resolved within 12 months, or any further period the Registrar allows, the licence must be cancelled and the person’s name removed from the register.

This is why it is important to check your records now, address any gaps early, and make sure you can provide evidence if selected for an audit.

How to prepare

The easiest way to prepare for an audit is to keep your skills maintenance records up to date throughout your cycle, rather than trying to recreate them later.

Your records should clearly show what you did, when you did it, how long it took, and how it relates to your licensed building work. For on-the-job learning, focus on what you learned, not just the project itself.

Useful records include:

• course certificates
• attendance confirmations
• notes from training or research
• project examples
• photos
• other documents that support the learning you recorded.

If you are unsure whether your records are complete, now is a good time to review them and make any updates. Taking a few minutes now to check your Skills Maintenance activities can make audits and renewals smoother and reduce the risk of compliance issues later.