About us
Independent structural engineers for Hobart
Hobart Structural Engineers is a licensed structural and civil engineering practice for homes and commercial buildings. We inspect, diagnose, design and certify. We never sell, recommend a contractor for or carry out repairs.
In short
Hobart Structural Engineers is a structural and civil engineering practice licensed in Tasmania in the Engineer – Civil class. We work on homes and commercial buildings, with site visits across Greater Hobart and desktop reviews, design and certification anywhere in Tasmania. We are engineering only: we inspect, diagnose, design and certify, and every job starts with a fixed quote within 1–2 business hours.
- Tasmanian licence
- Engineer – Civil, no. [licence no.]
- Credentials
- [CPEng / NER]
- Insurance
- [PI insurance]
- Site visits
- Greater Hobart, eight council areas
- Desktop work
- Tasmania-wide, from photos and plans
- Quotes
- Fixed, within 1–2 business hours
Who we are
Who is behind Hobart Structural Engineers?
Hobart Structural Engineers is an engineering-only practice for Hobart homes and commercial buildings. Reports, designs and certificates are signed by a licensed engineer. Our responsible engineer is [engineer name] ([CPEng / NER]).
Most of the questions we answer are practical ones. Why is this wall cracking, and is it getting worse? Can this wall come out, and what beam replaces it? Will this retaining wall hold the slope? What does the building surveyor need from an engineer before work starts? We answer them with measurements, calculations and the Australian Standards, then put the answer in plain English.
Hobart gives us plenty to work with: Georgian sandstone cottages, brick and weatherboard homes on timber stumps, houses on steep hillside blocks, clay soils that swell and shrink, and steel-framed commercial buildings and warehouses.
Where a job needs boreholes or laboratory soil testing, such as a landslip report or a site classification, that fieldwork may be carried out with our geotechnical partner, [geotechnical partner].
Licence and credentials
Are your engineers licensed in Tasmania?
Yes. Structural engineers in Tasmania are licensed under the Occupational Licensing Act 2005, and our licence is in the Engineer – Civil class, the class that covers structural engineering.
| Credential | What it means | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Tasmanian licence | A licence under the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 to provide engineering services in Tasmania's building industry, in the Engineer – Civil class | [licence no.] |
| CPEng / NER | Engineers Australia credentials (Chartered Professional Engineer, National Engineering Register). They are qualifications and a pathway to the licence, not the licence itself | [CPEng / NER] |
| Professional indemnity insurance | Insurance that covers claims arising from professional advice and design | [PI insurance] |
| ABN | Australian Business Number | [ABN] |
The licence number is also in the footer of every page. You can check any Tasmanian licence holder on the Tasmanian Government's online licence search.
Engineering only
Why are we engineering only?
Because the engineer who diagnoses a problem shouldn't also profit from fixing it. We inspect, diagnose, design and certify, so our advice can follow the evidence, including to "no repair needed".
When the assessor also sells the repair
- The diagnosis and the repair quote come from one company
- The method suggested may be the one that company installs
- The design is tied to that company's own crew
An independent engineer
- Finds the likely cause before any repair is scoped
- Can recommend no repair, maintenance or monitoring
- Designs a repair that any licensed builder can price and build
- Inspects and certifies the work separately from the builder
Underpinning is a good example. We design and certify underpinning, and we review underpinning quotes from documents and photos from $390 + GST. We never install it.
Who we work for
Who do we work for?
Homeowners, buyers, builders, building designers, business owners and developers. The engineering is the same careful work; the paperwork changes with the job.
Residential
Homeowners, buyers & builders
Cracks, sloping floors, steep blocks, renovations, decks and a pool in the backyard.
- Structural inspections & crack reports
- Pre-purchase structural inspections
- Wall removal, extensions & retaining walls
- Form 35 & Form 55 certificates
Commercial
Owners, developers & designers
Fit-outs, mezzanines, steel structures and small multi-residential projects, documented for your building surveyor.
Commercial services →Where we work
Where do we work?
We visit sites across Greater Hobart's eight council areas: Hobart, Clarence, Glenorchy, Kingborough, Brighton, Sorell, Huon Valley and Derwent Valley. Desktop reviews, design and certification from photos and plans are available anywhere in Tasmania.
How we quote
How do we price a job?
Every job gets a fixed quote before it starts. Our starting prices are published, from $350 + GST, and photos or plans are usually enough to quote.
You send photos or plans
Through the quote form, with the suburb and any deadline, such as settlement, a permit or a builder's start date.
We send a fixed quote
Within 1–2 business hours (Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm): the fee, what's included, whether a site visit is needed and the delivery date.
You decide
No obligation. If you go ahead, the fee is fixed for the scope in the quote, and the payment terms are in the quote.
Our boundaries
What do we do, and what don't we do?
We stay inside engineering. Clear limits keep the advice independent and tell you who else your project may need.
We do
- Inspect, measure and photograph cracks, movement and structural defects
- Work out the likely cause, and say so when a test is needed to confirm it
- Design beams, footings, retaining walls, decks, pools, stormwater, extensions and repairs
- Sign a Form 35 for our designs and a Form 55 for assessable items
- Inspect key stages and certify the finished work
We don't
- Sell or carry out repairs, underpinning or restumping
- Recommend a contractor for the work
- Prepare BAL assessments or bushfire hazard management plans: a bushfire hazard practitioner prepares those
- Issue building permits or Certificates of Likely Compliance: your building surveyor does
- Give legal, financial or insurance advice, or predict how an insurer will decide
Standards and rules
Which standards and rules do we work to?
The Australian Standards and the Tasmanian building rules that apply to the job, named in the report or design so your building surveyor can check them.
- AS 2870-2011
- Residential slabs and footings: the site classes (A, S, M, H1, H2, E, P) and the damage categories used to rate wall cracks.
- NCC 2022
- The National Construction Code edition that applies in Tasmania until 30 April 2027. NCC 2025 applies from 1 May 2027.
- Director's Determination
- Sets whether building work is low risk, notifiable or permit work. Read building approvals in Tasmania.
- Landslip Hazard Code
- Low, medium, medium-active and high bands. Landslip reports follow AGS 2007 Landslide Risk Management with an AS 1726-2017 site investigation.
- Form 35 and Form 55
- The Certificate of the Responsible Designer and the Certificate of Qualified Person – Assessable Item. See engineering certificates.