Inspection Records, Documentation and Site Oversight
Records and evidence
The surveyor must keep records of inspections, including dates, findings, and any directions issued. Records must be retained for the prescribed period and made available to the regulator on request. Understand the difference between the inspection record, the permit file, and the certificate of occupancy or final certificate. Good records are contemporaneous, specific, and reference the standard or plan relied upon.
Site oversight
Site oversight includes monitoring compliance with permit conditions, checking that the builder and trades are appropriately registered, and responding to complaints. The surveyor must not delegate statutory decisions. Where non-compliance is found, the surveyor documents it and chooses the appropriate enforcement tool.
Traps
Questions often test whether a verbal direction is sufficient - it is not; directions should be written. Another trap is assuming records can be reconstructed later; contemporaneous notes carry far more weight. Also distinguish the surveyor's record from the builder's quality records, which serve different purposes.
Rule of thumb
If it is not written down at the time with specifics, it did not happen for enforcement purposes.
Worked example
A surveyor observes inadequate bracing at frame stage but says nothing in writing. Later, after a collapse, the file shows only a passed inspection. The missing record undermines both the surveyor and the enforcement case, so the correct practice is to record the defect, issue a written direction, and re-inspect.