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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 14 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 4515 ..

(4) Was the builder involved a properly licensed and accredited builder under the ACT regulations.

(5) Is any action being taken against the builder by PALM.

(6) What action has been taken by PALM to mediate in this matter.

(7) What action was recommended by PALM after meeting with complainants.

(8) How many other properties are similarly affected by (a) watercourse and (b) landfill in this immediate vicinity.

(9) What action has been taken to ensure that no further new buildings will be constructed over the creek and landfill.

(10) Is the Territory exposed to compensation claims over this issue.

Mr Corbell: The answers to the member's questions are as follows:

(1) The building approval and inspection process followed the procedures set out in the Building Act and the necessary certifications were given by an accredited structural engineer. Accordingly, on the basis of information presented, PALM has no grounds for further investigation on this matter. PALM officers met with the current owners on a number of occasions and advised that they should seek their own legal advice on this matter.

New developments on all building sites require compulsory technical investigation and design by a professional engineer. This requirement is now strictly enforced by the private building certifier PALM's audit of certifies work give special attention to this aspect of their work.

(2) (a) In 1993 a development approval was given to a lessee (Mr Albert Bonanza) by the then ACT Planning Authority. The Planning Authority drew the lessee's attention to a fill plan for the site and the need for engineering design and certification prior to the issue of a Certificate of Occupancy by the Building Controller. As noted in 1 above the foundation soil testing was undertaken by a practising structural engineer and a certification was given to the Building Controller prior to the issue of a Certificate of Occupancy.

(b) The current owners purchased the house in November 2000 and noticed settlement of the footings in January 2001. The three previous owners did not make any complaints to PALM regarding this matter. PALM examined the complaints by the current owners and provided to them various documents on file to show that all the standard procedures were followed in issuing the Certificate of Occupancy.

(3) Yes. The Building Code of Australia requires footings to be constructed in accordance with Australian Standard AS 2870. The Standard requires the foundation condition to be classified in accordance with the classification system within the Standard. On that basis a footing system from the Standard is to be used to address the site classification. Qualified engineers can change the requirement of the Standard and

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