Skip to content.
Return to Department of Building and Housing home page.

Design licence class

If you are a competent designer, you can apply to be licensed in Design. There are three areas of practice.

Which Design area of practice should I apply to be assessed in?

There are three areas of practice for the Design licence but you only need to be assessed in one. You should have sound knowledge of and practical experience in designing the building categories that relate to the area of practice you are applying to be assessed in.

LBPs must only undertake work they are competent to do, and recognise when other skills are required.

The Design areas of practice relate to the three categories of buildings.  

Category of building Design area of practice
Category 1 buildings Design area of practice 1
Category 1 and 2 buildings Design area of practice 2
Category 1, 2 and 3 buildings Design area of practice 3

Building category Description
Category 1 buildings Single household dwellings with low or medium-risk envelope design
Category 2 buildings Single household dwellings with  high-risk envelope design, or any other buildings with a building height* less than 10 m
Category 3 buildings Buildings greater than 10 m in building height*, except single household dwellings.

*Building height is the vertical distance between the floors of the building’s lowest and highest storeys.