Vuong and Building Services Board (WA)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Vuong for review of a decision by the Building Services Board (WA) to impose a condition on his registration as a Building Surveying Practitioner Level 2 in Western Australia. Mr Vuong sought to have this condition removed, arguing that his existing registration in New South Wales was equivalent and that the condition was unnecessary. The Building Services Board (WA) had imposed the condition to ensure equivalency between his New South Wales and Western Australian registrations.

The primary legal issue before the State Administrative Tribunal was to determine whether Mr Vuong's New South Wales registration, which included a specific condition limiting his certification work to that performed on behalf of councils, was equivalent to the Building Surveying Practitioner Level 2 (Individual) registration in Western Australia. This required the Tribunal to interpret the relevant New South Wales legislation and regulations and compare the scope of activities authorised by each registration, considering the application of the *Mutual Recognition Act 1992* (Cth).

The Tribunal reasoned that the *Mutual Recognition Act* requires the occupation in the second State to be equivalent to that in the first State, with equivalency being tested by whether the authorised activities are substantially the same, even if conditions are imposed. The Tribunal found that Mr Vuong's New South Wales registration, due to the condition restricting his work to that for councils, was not equivalent to the broader scope of a Building Surveying Practitioner Level 2 (Individual) in Western Australia. The Tribunal noted that a previous inconsistent decision made by the respondent regarding another individual did not set a binding precedent. The Tribunal concluded that the condition imposed on Mr Vuong's Western Australian registration was necessary to achieve the required equivalency.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, meaning the condition imposed on Mr Vuong's Western Australian registration was upheld.