Technical referee reports for BPC registration: who can sign

For Victorian domestic builder registration, BPC requires a technical referee who is a Domestic Builder registered in your class or a higher class and who directly supervised the work they are confirming, as set out in its domestic builder guidance. Commercial builder applicants need a Commercial Builder registered in the same class or a higher class who directly supervised their work, under BPC’s commercial builder rules.

This is evidence of supervised building work, not a character reference. BPC has also moved these builder reports online, replacing the previous PDFs. So if you’re asking someone today, check that they can verify the relevant work before you nominate them through BPC.

Who can be my technical referee for BPC registration?

Start with the person who supervised you, not the person with the most impressive title. Knowing you’re a good worker isn’t enough: they need to have directly supervised the work listed, as BPC’s domestic referee guidance explains.

Before you nominate someone:

• Check the category and class. A domestic application needs the required Domestic Builder referee; a commercial application needs the required Commercial Builder referee.
• Check the actual registration record. Use BPC’s practitioner search to check status, permitted work and any conditions. Don’t rely on a business card.
• Match the person to the work. Which projects and building-work components did they directly supervise you carrying out?

“My boss”, “a workmate” or “a builder I know” describes a relationship. It doesn’t answer those checks. The domestic and commercial referee requirements are about the person’s registration and direct supervision of your work.

Before committing to a class or paying an application fee, Check your next step.

What should my referee be able to say about each project?

Help the referee recognise the actual job and your part in it. BPC’s nomination guide asks you to select the projects applicable to each referee. Its experience guidance looks for paid, supervised experience across technical, supervision and contractual work.

Before you ring your referee, jot down for each project:

• The project: where it was and what was built or altered.
• The dates: when you worked there, not just the project’s overall duration.
• Your paid role: employee or contractor, and what you personally did.
• Your responsibilities: the construction work, coordination or contractual tasks you actually handled.
• The supervision: who supervised you and which parts of your work they can confirm.

“Sam worked on a house” leaves most of the story untold. A more useful note is: “On a house extension in Ballarat, Sam worked as a paid carpenter from February to June 2025, installing wall frames and roof trusses under the registered domestic builder’s direct supervision.”

That made-up note describes framing experience. It does not claim Sam managed the whole build or that the same referee supervised the later fit-out. Keep the detail truthful and let the referee complete their own report through BPC’s process.

How does the report need to match DB-U, DB-L or commercial work?

The experience needs to relate to the class you’re applying for. BPC describes DB-U as responsibility for carrying out, managing and arranging all components of domestic building work. A DB-L class covers a defined type of work. Commercial applications have their own classes and requirements.

A report about framing alone doesn’t show what you did across the rest of a domestic build. Equally, a long list of unrelated work can bury the experience relevant to a limited class.

For DB-U, Schedule 9, clause 31 of the Building Regulations 2018 prescribes qualifications and at least three years of practical experience. Regulation 258(2) requires practical experience in the seven years before the application and includes compliance with supervision requirements. Three years is an experience requirement, not a requirement for three referee reports.

Not sure which scope fits? Read DB-U or DB-L: which registration fits your work? or the three builder groups in Victoria. For the wider evidence picture, see what your Victorian registration experience needs to show.

How do I request a technical referee report now?

Use the current online route, not an old PDF found in search. BPC’s technical referee guide for applicants sets out the steps:

1. Log in to BPC and open Registration and licensing, then Technical References.
2. Select + Add Technical Referee and search by the practitioner’s name or accreditation number.
3. Select the correct practitioner and the projects applicable to them. Add another referee where needed to cover the building-work components.
4. Review and submit the referee nominations. BPC emails the nominated referees directly.

If the practitioner isn’t found, the guide provides a manual-entry step. That is not a reason to skip the registration and supervision checks.

The referee completion guide tells the referee to follow BPC’s email link, complete the online form and acknowledgement, then submit. BPC may contact them again.

You’ll receive confirmation when each referee submits. Payment and final application submission cannot be processed until all reports are complete, according to the applicant guide. Submitting your nominations is not the same as submitting the completed registration application.

For the separate budget questions, see Victorian builder registration fees. If BPC has already given instructions for your file, check those before changing what you submit.

What makes a technical referee report less useful?

Compare it with what BPC needs to assess: relevant experience, the class and direct supervision. Watch for these:

• A general endorsement: “reliable worker” doesn’t explain the building work supervised.
• An unclear role: the project may be substantial, but what did you personally do?
• A gap between referee and work: one person may not have supervised every component you’re claiming.
• A scope mismatch: the record doesn’t show experience relevant to the class being sought.
• Unclear dates or paid arrangements: BPC may ask for records supporting your employment or contract work.

BPC also says not to rely on owner-builder or training-course experience, which it may disregard. Keep your paid-work records and compare your history with the current experience requirements before asking someone to verify it.

Not sure your referees can speak to the right projects? Check your next step before you nominate anyone.

Does a referee report replace the BPC assessment?

No. The report supports your account of supervised work. BPC separately reviews your qualifications and experience for the knowledge and skills needed in the class. BPC will tell you if you need to sit an assessment, as explained on its assessment page.

Read how BPC’s assessment process works and permitted assessment reference materials when you reach that stage. Follow your own BPC notification for the arrangements.

BRIQ, our sister study app for Victorian builders, has a broader guide to DB-U registration and study preparation. Study preparation and evidence of supervised experience are different parts of getting ready.

How can BLS help before I lodge?

Builders Licence Success provides application support to walk you through your experience, likely class and referee questions, so gaps can be sorted before you lodge. Start with our Victorian registration guide, domestic builder registration support or commercial builder registration support. BPC assesses every application and makes the decision.

Rather talk it through? Call us on 0468 008 598.

Sources

Checked 10 November 2026. BPC’s current domestic and commercial pages say technical referee reports have moved online. The legislation checked is the Building Regulations 2018, Version 032, in force from 27 October 2026.

• BPC: Domestic builder — Technical references.
• BPC: Commercial builder — Technical references.
• BPC: Technical Referee Guide for Applicants.
• BPC: Technical Referee Report Completion Guide.
• BPC: Builder registration requirements and eligibility.
• BPC: Find and check a practitioner.
• BPC: Assessment arrangements.
• Building Regulations 2018, Version 032 and the official Word copy: regulation 258 and Schedule 9, clause 31.

For the next part of your application, read where reports fit in your BPC Portal application.