Suspended building practitioner convicted, fined $10,000
Lucy Walsh has been sentenced in the Alexandra District Court after being convicted of 2 offences under the Building Act 2004 and one offence of forgery under the Crimes Act 1961.
Judge Dominic Flatley imposed fines totalling $10,000 plus court costs on 28 August 2025. The judge considered community detention, but decided a significant fine was appropriate.
The charges followed an investigation into design work for a small dwelling in Central Otago. At the time, Ms Walsh’s LBP licence had been suspended since 30 September 2021 for non-compliance with licensing conditions. Despite this, she carried out restricted building work without supervision from a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP).
Under the Building Act 2004, all restricted building work must be carried out or supervised by an LBP.
When applying for building consent, Ms Walsh declared herself to be an LBP in the Certificate of Design Work. She later submitted a second Certificate of Design Work that used her employer’s LBP number and electronic signature without permission.
The Central Otago District Council raised concerns about the work and contacted her employer. The employer confirmed that they did not know about the project. They also said they did not supervise the design work and did not authorise Walsh to use their LBP number and signature on the Certificate of Design Work.
The council found the problem during consent checks. They confirmed the supervising LBP’s details were used without permission. “There was a clear breach of professional trust when another LBP’s identity was used to support a false certificate,” says Duncan Connor, Registrar of Licensed Building Practitioners. “The Court’s $10,000 fine reflects the seriousness of this conduct. Practitioners must keep their licence current, and consumers should always check the LBP Public Register before engaging anyone to do restricted building work.”
The LBP scheme was established to protect consumers, lift building practitioner competency, and ensure that only qualified professionals carry out or supervise Restricted Building Work (RBW). It also helps homeowners make informed choices by providing a public register of licensed practitioners.
RBW includes design and construction that affects the primary structure and external moisture management system of a residential building — areas critical to safety and durability. When this work is done by someone who is unlicensed or unsupervised, it can lead to serious compliance failures and costly problems.