Page 2636 - Week 07 - Thursday, 2 August 2018
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target all stages of the regulatory system, from training, licensing and design up front through to the construction process and resolving post-occupancy disputes.
These reforms are well supported by industry and community stakeholders.
MR PARTON: Minister, what have you done to ensure that private certifiers are approving or signing off on buildings only once they are compliant with the Building Code of Australia, fire standards and other relevant construction standards?
MR GENTLEMAN: I have prioritised reforms to improve the compliance of residential construction across the ACT. The reform package also includes actions to address issues such as security payments and the building regulatory system as a whole, and problems of course with the Building Act. It will take some time to implement. It may take a few years to start to see the results across the industry. The changes we are making are quite fundamental and extensive. They cover aspects from pre-construction such as design, training and licencing to supervision and verification during construction works right through to post-occupancy dispute resolution.
MR WALL: Minister, can you assure buyers of new homes in the ACT that they can be confident that the property they are purchasing is compliant with the building code fire standards or other relevant construction codes?
MR GENTLEMAN: Yes, I am very confident in the work that our directorate does. Unfortunately, of course, we may continue to see problems emerge with buildings that are already designed and constructed, some of which were built over a decade ago. We will need to manage these problems as best as we can.
Problems in these buildings, of course, may be very difficult to resolve but a defect found in an older building does not mean that we are going to prevent major defects in new buildings. Of course, we are looking at all of those new buildings to ensure that they comply in all of the circumstances that Mr Wall mentioned.
Health—adult mental health unit
MRS DUNNE: My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. I refer to reports yesterday regarding assaults on staff at the Dhulwa mental health unit. The reports indicated that there had been 10 assaults on staff in recent weeks with some staff having to be taken to Canberra Hospital’s emergency department. Mr Matthew Daniel of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said on ABC radio in relation to proposed discussions with management about issues such as violence management training:
… I don't hold out much hope for those discussions because there is a history of denials that there are problems
Why has ACT Health denied that there are problems with security at the Dhulwa mental health unit?
MR RATTENBURY: Yes, this example highlights the challenges of working in a forensic mental health space. Whilst it can be a very rewarding job for our staff,
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