Building and Construction Authority (Registration of Construction Personnel) Regulations 2008

No. S 642

Building and Construction Authority Act

(Chapter 30A)

Building and Construction Authority (Registration of Construction Personnel) Regulations 2008

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 35 of the Building and Construction Authority Act, the Building and Construction Authority, with the approval of the Minister for National Development, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Building and Construction Authority (Registration of Construction Personnel) Regulations 2008 and shall come into operation on 18th December 2008.

Definitions

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“appropriate form”, in relation to any purpose for which a specific form is required to be used, means the relevant form that —

(a)	is provided by the Authority and obtainable from the Building and Construction Authority Academy at 200, Braddell Road, Singapore 579700 during such hours as that office is open for business; or
(b)	is set out on the Authority’s Internet website http://www.bca.gov.sg/coretrade, and any reference in these Regulations to a numbered form shall be construed as a reference to the current version of the form bearing the corresponding number which is displayed at that website;

“authorised officer”, in relation to any provision in these Regulations, means an employee of the Authority who is authorised in that behalf by the Authority for the purposes of that provision;

“Building and Construction Authority Academy” means the educational and research institution established by the Authority known as the Building and Construction Authority Academy of the Built Environment;

“certificate of registration” means any certificate of registration issued thereto under regulation 8(5) to any construction personnel;

“construction foreman” and “construction tradesman” have the same meanings, respectively, as in Part V of the Building Control (Licensing of Builders) Regulations 2008 (G.N. No. S __/2008);

“construction personnel” means a natural person who is —

(a)	a construction foreman of any class; or
(b)	a construction tradesman of any class;

“construction plant operation work” means operating any of the following plant or machinery:

(a)	a saddle jib tower crane;
(b)	a luffing jib tower crane;
(c)	a mobile crane (truck mounted);
(d)	a crawler crane;
(e)	a hydraulic excavator;
(f)	a telescopic handler;
(g)	a bulldozer;
(h)	a track shovel;
(i)	an excavator loader;
(j)	a piling rig;

“electrical works” means installing any wiring, cable, conduit, trunking, isolators, switch socket outlets, power switches or any other fittings for transmission of electricity for lighting, heating, cooling or other similar purposes in a building;

“plumbing and piping works” means installing any gas, water and sanitary piping, or any associated fittings for the conveyance of gas, water distribution, soil or waste water disposal in a building;

“registered” means registered under these Regulations;

“reinforced concrete works” means fabrication and installation of formwork and steel reinforcement for reinforced concrete work, and installation of pre-cast concrete components;

“skills assessment” means an assessment conducted by or on behalf of the Authority of the skills in the class of work a construction tradesman or a construction foreman is or is to be registered in;

“structural steel works” means fabrication, fitting, welding and erection of steel members or components to form an integral part of any structural system of a building;

“test” means a test conducted by or on behalf of the Authority of the theoretical knowledge of a construction foreman and his communication skills;

“tiling and stone laying work” means the laying of tiles, marble or stone finishes to the interior or exterior walls or the floors of a building;

“waterproofing works” means applying or laying of material to waterproof any basement, foundation, roof, wet area or wall in the interior or on the exterior of a building.

(2) All forms used for the purposes of these Regulations shall be completed in the English language and in accordance with such directions as may be specified in the form or by the Authority.

Classes of registration of construction personnel

3. All construction personnel shall be registered according to the following classes:

(a)	a construction foreman;
(b)	a construction tradesman.

Classes of construction tradesman

4. A construction tradesman may be registered according to one or more of the following classes of work that he carries out, or undertakes to carry out, for or on behalf of another person, for a fixed sum, percentage, or valuable consideration, wages or other reward:

(a)	construction plant operation work;
(b)	electrical works;
(c)	plumbing and piping work;
(d)	tiling and stone laying work.

Classes of construction foreman

5. A construction foreman may be registered according to one or more of the following classes of work, comprising supervision and co-ordination of construction tradesmen or other workmen undertaking the same class of work for or on behalf of another person, for a fixed sum, percentage, or valuable consideration, wages or other reward:

(a)	electrical works;
(b)	plumbing and piping work;
(c)	tiling and stone laying work;
(d)	waterproofing works;
(e)	reinforced concrete work;
(f)	structural steel work.

Eligibility for registration

6.—(1) A person shall be eligible to be registered, or to renew his registration, as a construction tradesman if he —

(a)

possesses the qualifications specified in Part I of the Schedule opposite the class he is applying to register or renew registration in, or such other qualifications that, in the opinion of the Authority, are equivalent to those qualifications so specified, and has the practical experience (whether in Singapore or elsewhere) that, in the opinion of the Authority, complements those qualifications; or

(b)

although not having complied with the requirements of sub-paragraph (a), satisfies the Authority that he has nevertheless has had such practical experience as to render him, in the opinion of the Authority, competent to be registered as a construction tradesman and has successfully undergone such skills assessment as the Authority may conduct for this purpose.

(2) A person shall be eligible to be registered, or to renew his registration, as a construction foreman if —

(a)

he —

(i)	possesses the Trade Diplomas specified in Part II of the Schedule opposite the class he is applying to register or renew registration in; or
(ii)	possesses any of the other qualifications specified in Part II of the Schedule opposite the class he is applying to register or renew registration in, and successfully completes such bridging course as may be conducted by or on behalf of the Authority,

and has the practical experience (whether in Singapore or elsewhere) that, in the opinion of the Authority, complements those qualifications; or

(b)

although not having complied with the requirements of sub-paragraph (a), he satisfies the Authority that he —

(i)	possesses such other qualifications that, in the opinion of the Authority, are equivalent to those specified in Part II of the Schedule opposite the class he is applying to register or renew registration in; or
(ii)	has had such practical experience as to render him, in the opinion of the Authority, competent to be registered as a construction foreman,

and has successfully completed the bridging course referred to in sub-paragraph (a), and such test and skills assessment as the Authority may conduct for this purpose.

(3) In deciding whether to register a person under these Regulations, the Authority may make inquiries and investigations that are reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances so as to be satisfied as to —

(a)	the good character of the applicant; or
(b)	whether the public interest will be served by the registration of the applicant,

including seeking confirmation about the experience of applicants through skills assessment and referee checks.

(4) Where a person is registered as a construction foreman in any of the following classes:

(a)	electrical works;
(b)	plumbing and piping work;
(c)	tiling and stone laying work,

he shall also be registered as a construction tradesman in the following classes, respectively:

(i)	electrical works;
(ii)	plumbing and piping work;
(iii)	tiling and stone laying work.

Validity of registration

7. Every registration of a construction tradesman or construction foreman under these Regulations shall be valid for 24 months, and upon its expiry, the registration may be renewed for the same period.

Application for registration

8.—(1) Every application to register under these Regulations shall be made by the construction personnel concerned to the Authority in the appropriate form and be accompanied by the applicable fee specified in regulation 11.

(2) Every applicant for registration shall, if so required in writing by an authorised officer —

(a)	attend personally before the authorised officer; and
(b)	provide clarification to the authorised officer as to such additional information and document as may be required.

(3) Where an applicant for registration fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirement of the authorised officer under paragraph (2), the Authority may reject the application.

(4) Subject to regulation 6, upon receiving an application to register under these Regulations under paragraph (1), the Authority shall consider the application and may —

(a)	register the applicant as a construction tradesman or construction foreman in one or more classes specified in regulation 4 or 5, subject to such conditions as the Authority thinks fit; or
(b)	refuse the registration.

(5) Where the Authority has registered a person, or renewed the person’s registration, as a construction personnel, it shall issue to that person a certificate of such registration, specifying the class of the person’s registration, if any.

Application to renew registration

9.—(1) An application to renew the registration of any construction personnel shall be submitted by the construction personnel concerned to an authorised officer in the appropriate form and not later than one month before the date of expiry of the registration, accompanied by the applicable fee specified in regulation 11.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the registration of any construction personnel may be renewed for another 24 months on receipt of an application under paragraph (1).

(3) The Authority may refuse to renew the registration of any construction personnel the application for which is not made more than 14 days before the date of expiry of the registration.

(4) Every applicant for any renewal of registration may be required in writing by an authorised officer —

(a)	to attend personally before the authorised officer; and
(b)	to provide clarification to the authorised officer as to such additional information and document as may be required.

(5) Where an applicant for any renewal of registration fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirement of the authorised officer under paragraph (4), the Authority may reject the application.

Cancellation of registration

10.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Authority may by order cancel any registration of a construction tradesman or construction foreman if —

(a)	there is reasonable cause to believe that the registration of the construction tradesman or construction foreman or the renewal thereof has been obtained by means of any false statement or any statement that is false in a material particular;
(b)	the construction tradesman or construction foreman has knowingly allowed details of his registration to be included in the manpower programme for more than one significant general building work project carried out at the same time;
(c)	the Authority becomes aware of a circumstance that would have required or permitted the Authority to refuse registration to the person had the Authority been aware of the circumstance immediately before the registration;
(d)	the construction tradesman or construction foreman is convicted of any offence under regulation 12; or
(e)	the public interest or national security of Singapore so requires.

(2) The Authority shall not exercise its powers under paragraph (1) unless an opportunity of being heard has been given to the construction personnel against whom the Authority intends to exercise its powers.

(3) Where the Authority cancels the registration of any construction personnel under this regulation —

(a)	it shall cancel any certificate of registration issued to that construction personnel; and
(b)	the construction personnel concerned shall be debarred from applying to register himself again as any construction personnel for a period of 12 months after the effective date of that cancellation.

(4) The person whose registration as a construction tradesman or construction foreman is cancelled under this regulation shall, within 14 days after being notified of the cancellation of registration, surrender to an authorised officer his certificate of registration, failing which the person shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) The Authority shall cancel the registration of every deceased construction personnel.

(6) If the Authority has cancelled the registration of a person as a construction foreman in any class under paragraph (1), the registration of that same person as a construction tradesman in that same class shall be deemed to be also cancelled.

(7) In this regulation, “manpower programme” and “significant general building work project” have the same respective meanings as in section 29H of the Building Control Act (Cap. 29).

Fees

11.—(1) The fee to register as construction personnel in each class or to renew such registration shall be $20.

(2) The fee in paragraph (1) shall be non-refundable and shall be payable in advance upon the making of the application to register or to renew, as the case may be.

(3) The Authority may waive, in whole or in part, the payment of any such fee where, in the opinion of the Authority, the waiver is justified by exceptional circumstances or by circumstances beyond the control of the person applying to register or renew registration.

False certificates of registration and false applications, etc.

12.—(1) If any construction personnel —

(a)	makes a false certificate of registration;
(b)	knowingly makes use of any certificate of registration that is false;
(c)	personates any other person named in any certificate of registration; or
(c)	furnishes any document or information or makes any statement in, or in connection with, an application for registration as any construction personnel or for renewal of such registration (whether for that person or for another), knowing that the document, information or statement is false or misleading in a material particular,

he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

(2) A reference in this regulation to a false certificate of registration shall be a reference —

(a)	to a document that is not a certificate of registration but purports to be one; or
(b)	to a document that is a certificate of registration that has been altered by a person who is not authorised to alter that document, or that purports to have been altered on a date on which, or at a place at which, or otherwise in circumstances in which, it was not in fact made or altered.

(3) A person shall be treated for the purposes of this regulation as making a false certificate of registration if he alters a document so as to make it false in any respect (whether or not it was already a false document before the alteration or is false in some other respect apart from that alteration).

Operation of other written laws

13. Nothing in these Regulations shall affect the operation of any other written law relating to the licensing or regulation of any construction personnel, and the requirements of these Regulations shall be in addition to and not in substitution or derogation of the provisions of those other written laws.

Made this 9th day of December 2008.

QUEK SEE TIAT

Chairman,
Building and Construction Authority,
Singapore.

[eReg; AG/LEG/SL/30A/2005/2 Vol. 1]

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