OSCA occupation

312231 Building Inspector

Inspects and reports on the structural quality and safety of buildings. May perform tasks related to regulatory building inspection and reporting in support of Building Surveyors.

Major group: 3 Technicians and Trades Workers
Unit group: 3122 Construction and Safety Inspectors
Edition: OSCA 2024
Skill level: Level 2

Should you use OSCA or ANZSCO?

OSCA 2024 is the current Australian occupation classification for storing, organising and reporting occupation information. Use this OSCA record for current Australian statistical and analytical classification work.

Some migration and administrative programs still specify ANZSCO 2022. Check the exact system named by the agency or form rather than replacing the code automatically.

Check the current ABS guidance on OSCA and ANZSCO use

Official ANZSCO correspondence

ANZSCO 312113 Building Inspector Partial correspondence in the ABS table

Role overview

Inspects and reports on the structural quality and safety of buildings. May perform tasks related to regulatory building inspection and reporting in support of Building Surveyors.

Use this page to confirm the official title, the parent unit group, the task list and the related ANZSIC industry context before using the occupation in classification, reporting or migration-adjacent workflows.

Occupation facts

Skill level: 2
Major group: 3 Technicians and Trades Workers
Sub-major group: 31 Building, Engineering, ICT and Scientific Technicians
Minor group: 312 Building and Construction Technicians
Unit group: 3122 Construction and Safety Inspectors

Tasks

Undertakes pre-purchase building inspections on behalf of clients and prepares pre-purchase reports
Identifies non-structural defects, structural issues, and conditions that may contribute to structural issues in buildings, and provides reports on their severity along with recommendations for a course of action to be undertaken within a suggested timeframe
Advises builders, contractors and property owners on building regulations and requirements
May carry out inspection of buildings to verify if building work complies with approved permits and legislative and building regulations, and produces reports on their non-compliance at the request of a Building Surveyor

Skill level guidance

Skill level helps place the occupation inside the ABS hierarchy. Use it as a classification cue, then check the actual task list and occupational context before making a decision for HR, visa or reporting work.

How to use this occupation page

Start with the official OSCA title and task list. Then confirm the parent unit group and compare the related occupations on this page if the job title is broad, overlapping or used differently across employers.

The ANZSIC links are there to help when the same occupation appears across several industries and you need the business-side classification as well.

Related occupations

Industry context

Alternative titles

No alternative titles are currently attached.

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Compare OSCA 312231 with related occupations

Compare roles in the same OSCA unit group by their official definition, skill level, tasks and recognised alternative titles.

Comparison point	Current code312231 Building Inspector	312232 Energy Assessor	312233 Plumbing Inspector
Official role definition	Inspects and reports on the structural quality and safety of buildings. May perform tasks related to regulatory building inspection and reporting in support of Building Surveyors.	Assesses the energy efficiency of buildings by using computer modelling tools to predict the heating and cooling requirements of buildings based on the design, materials and construction.	Inspects plumbing work to ensure compliance with relevant standards and regulations.
Skill level	Skill Level 2	Skill Level 3	Skill Level 2
Key tasks	Undertakes pre-purchase building inspections on behalf of clients and prepares pre-purchase reports Identifies non-structural defects, structural issues, and conditions that may contribute to structural issues in buildings, and provides reports on their severity along with recommendations for a course of action to be undertaken within a suggested timeframe Advises builders, contractors and property owners on building regulations and requirements May carry out inspection of buildings to verify if building work complies with approved permits and legislative and building regulations, and produces reports on their non-compliance at the request of a Building Surveyor	Uses approved software and information from building plans to model potential consumption of energy for heating and cooling purposes to verify compliance with national building codes Assesses and certifies the thermal performance of buildings Advises on building orientation, materials and construction to improve thermal performance Measures and prepares reports on the energy use of buildings, including appliances, heating and cooling, and solar batteries	Conducts site inspections of plumbing installations to ensure compliance with relevant standards and regulations Reviews plans and specifications for plumbing installations to ensure compliance with building codes and regulations Issues permits and certificates of compliance for plumbing installations Investigates complaints and reports of non-compliance with plumbing regulations
Alternative titles	Not stated	Energy Efficiency Assessor Thermal Performance Assessor	Not stated

Comparison uses occupation definitions, skill levels, tasks and title variants from the ABS OSCA data files.

In this section

Official source

Official source: ABS OSCA 2024 release and correspondence tables
Last reviewed: 2026-04-17

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