Vertical transportation design in regulated buildings

Vertical transportation design requirements in regulated buildings

 The Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 (DBP Regulation) distinguishes between a vertical transportation product and the integration of that product into the building.

Vertical transportation products are also regulated under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (WHS Regulation), which provides that certain vertical transportation products must be authorised in accordance with the WHS Regulation.

If your design work relates only to the aspects of the vertical transportation product that are not required to achieve compliance with the BCA, you do not need to be registered under the DBP Act to do this work.

However, you must be registered under the DBP Act to design the way that vertical transportation product integrates with the building and to design those aspects of a vertical transportation product that are required to achieve compliance with the BCA.  

Design practitioner obligations

Preparing designs 

A ‘design practitioner–vertical transportation’ is required to prepare construction issued regulated designs and make design compliance declarations. This includes designs that relate to how the vertical transportation product will integrate with other building elements to achieve the building's overall compliance with the BCA. 

For the purposes of vertical transportation, ‘integration’ means that the installation and use of the vertical transportation product will meet the requirements of the BCA.  

The regulated design guidance material sets out the design aspects and details required to meet this integration requirement. 

Examples of design requirements for lifts include: 

• fire resistance compliance
• structural requirements
• weather proofing, water ingress and treatment requirements
• electrical supply and emergency power requirements
• access and egress compliance, including nomination of lifts used for evacuation
• access for people with a disability and accessibility compliance
• confirmation of emergency and stretcher compliance
• design of fire service control strategy
• confirmation of the emergency access to lifts strategy
• design of the lift size and features to meet the BCA requirements
• design of lift shaft, lift pits, overruns and machinery access
• design of fall and crush prevention devices for vehicular lifts, car stackers and automated parking systems. 

A design is not necessarily a drawing. A design can be a detailed specification, report or functional description with the necessary detail to demonstrate and ensure compliance with the BCA, relevant codes and standards. 

Declaration requirements 

A Design practitioner-vertical transportation must declare that the work is in accordance with the requirements under the DBP Act, including whether or not: 

• any building product referred to in the design would, if used in a way that is consistent with the design, achieve compliance with the BCA.
• the design to which the compliance declaration relates involves a performance solution.
• the design accords with relevant elements of guidance material for regulated designs that have been approved by the Secretary.
• specialist's advice was sought and considered in preparing the design.
• the design appropriately integrates the vertical transportation product in accordance with the product’s authorisation under section 42 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act).
• the integration of the vertical transportation product in the design for building work achieves compliance with the requirements of AS 1735, Lifts, Escalators, and Moving Walks, as in force from time to time. 

If the design does not appropriately integrate the vertical transportation product in accordance with the product’s authorisation under section 42 of the WHS Act you must declare whether or not: 

• the registered design practitioner has advised the designer of the product (within the meaning of section 22 of the WHS Act). 

Design compliance declaration form

A design compliance declaration states that the designs that are provided to the building practitioner by the registered design practitioner comply with the BCA and other relevant standards. This declaration ensures that building practitioners can follow these designs to deliver building work that complies with the BCA. For vertical transportation these standards include AS 1735, Lifts, Escalators, and Moving Walks.

If the regulated designs do not comply with the BCA and other relevant standards, the design practitioner will be held responsible. This may mean that the practitioner is responsible for any remediation that is required to meet compliance with those standards.

Preparing or varying regulated designs

A design practitioner can declare regulated designs only if:

• the regulated design is on a building element or performance solution that they are registered to declare (i.e. a design practitioner–vertical transportation is the only person who can sign off on designs relating to vertical transportation).
• they have been involved in the preparation of the regulated design to integrate the vertical transportation product (from the outset of the design process).

Under the Design and Building Practitioners scheme, being involved in the preparation or variation of a regulated design means:

• actually preparing or varying the design, or
• coordinating or supervising the preparation or variation of the design.

A variation declaration should be lodged if the building practitioner has sought a change to the design practitioner–vertical transportation’s design, after the initial design compliance declaration is made. This variation must be prepared by the registered design practitioner before any building work occurs. This ensures that the as-built building work is consistent with the regulated designs declared by the registered design practitioner.

Building practitioners must ensure that regulated designs are from registered design practitioners authorised to provide the designs.

Mandatory insurance requirements for registered design practitioners and principal design practitioners commenced on 1 July 2022.

In-house registered design practitioners 

Manufacturers, suppliers or designers of vertical transportation products do not need to have a registered design practitioner in-house to supply products. 

If a manufacturer, supplier or designer of vertical transportation products is also registered as a design practitioner–vertical transportation, they will be responsible for preparing the regulated designs ensuring the product integration and the design is compliant with the BCA and AS 1735, Lifts, Escalators, and Moving Walks, as in force from time to time. 

If the product integration design is not compliant or those aspects of the product required to achieve compliance with the BCA are not compliant, the design practitioner is accountable. 

The registered design practitioner–vertical transportation must consult with the designer of the product if any changes to the product are required to integrate the product into the building. Where a variation to the product is required, the design practitioner must wait for the designer to confirm this can occur, consistent with any requirements for authorised plant under the Work Health and Safety legislation.

They are also required to provide sufficient information on the vertical transportation product to the ‘design practitioner–vertical transportation’ that will allow the design practitioner to produce a compliant regulated design and design compliance declaration (see clauses 7 and 9 of the DBP Regulation and the  Regulated Design Guidance Material provided in in Appendix 1 of the Design Practitioners' Handbook).

Note: A person who is a manufacturer, supplier or designer of the vertical transportation product and is not registered as a ‘design practitioner–vertical transportation’ cannot prepare regulated designs for the vertical transportation product.