Mandatory Inspections and the Inspection Regime
The notification framework
Mandatory inspections are the spine of compliance oversight. The regulations prescribe notification stages, typically including: commencement, footing or foundation, slab or base, frame, and final. The builder must notify the surveyor at each stage, and the surveyor must inspect before the stage is covered up. Understand the concept of a 'mandatory notification stage' and the consequences of failing to notify.
What the inspection covers
Each stage tests specific compliance: footings against geotechnical and design requirements; slabs for reinforcement, membrane, and levels; frames for tie-down, bracing, and structural members; final for completion against the permit and standards. The surveyor may also conduct additional inspections at their discretion.
Traps
Questions often test the consequence of proceeding past a stage without inspection - the work may be required to be exposed, and the surveyor may issue a direction or stop-work notice. Another trap is assuming the surveyor must attend within a fixed period regardless of notice; the duty is triggered by notification. Also watch for confusion between a mandatory inspection and a compliance audit.
Rule of thumb
If the work will be hidden, it must be inspected first. No notification means no inspection, and no inspection means the stage cannot be signed off.
Worked example
A builder pours a slab before notifying the surveyor of the pre-pour inspection. The surveyor may require the slab to be exposed for inspection or require destructive testing, and may issue a building notice for the failure to notify.