Report non-conforming building product or incident

Duty to report

If you are part of the chain of responsibility for a building product you have a duty to notify the QBCC if you become aware of, or reasonably suspect:

• that a building product is a non-conforming building product (NCBP)
• a safety incident has occurred involving a NCBP—known as a notifiable incident.

If you are not part of the chain of responsibility, such as a home or building owner or member of the general public (who is not a product designer, architect, engineer, manufacturer, importer, supplier or installer of the suspected NCBP) you still have a responsibility to help keep the community safe by notifying us if you become aware of NCBPs.

NCBP

Non-conforming building products (NCBPs) are those that are not safe, do not (or will not) comply with relevant regulatory provisions, or do not perform to the standard they are represented to perform, for an intended use.

Timeframe for reporting an NCBP

People within the chain of responsibility must report a NCBP to us:

• as soon as practicable
• but no later than 2 days after becoming aware or reasonably suspecting that a building product is an NCBP for an intended use.

NCBP notifiable incident

A notifiable incident is an incident causing either:

• the death or serious injury or illness of a person
• an incident that exposes a person to a risk of serious injury or illness (for example—the collapse or partial collapse of a building).

Timeframe for reporting a notifiable incident

People within the chain of responsibility must report a notifiable incident related to the use of a NCBP to us:

• as soon as practicable
• but no later than 2 days after becoming aware or reasonably suspecting that a notifiable incident may or was caused by the use of a NCBP.

What happens next?

When the QBCC is notified of a potential NCBP from any person in or out of the chain of responsibility there is a 2 phased process.

Phase 1—assess whether the product is a NCBP

We will undertake a preliminary assessment that will consider:

• the safety risk as our highest priority
• potential misrepresentation of product information and intended use
• any non-compliance with existing legislation .

Phase 2—refer to compliance team

If found to be a NCBP, then it is referred to our compliance team to consider if there has been a breach of duty or if other regulatory actions are required, such as a:

• ministerial recall
• direction to take a particular action.