Page 4228 - Week 11 - Thursday, 25 October 2018
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response to regulatory issues. These activities and directed training will increase licensee capabilities.
In July 2018 the registrar established the rapid regulatory response team, utilising resources from the existing construction audit team. The team responds to building and planning complaints with an aim to undertake a preliminary assessment and inspection of the relevant site within five business days. The point of the preliminary assessment is to establish whether there is a breach of legislation and whether the breach, if any, requires further investigation. Since its establishment, the team has assessed 46 complaints. Of these, 22 complaints have been closed.
The change in approach by Access Canberra has resulted in a reduction of outstanding complaints. In June 2018 there were 224 active complaints across building and planning. In under four months, this has been reduced by over 25 per cent to 166 outstanding complaints. This will improve further. As part of this year’s budget the government committed funding for two additional inspectors for Access Canberra to assist with the backlog of building and planning complaints. Access Canberra is currently recruiting to fill these positions.
Madam Speaker, there has been an increase in the use of powers by the regulator in recent weeks. Inspectors have issued stop notices under the Building Act for building work that was not in accordance with the building approval. The registrar has also issued a number of notices of intention to issue a rectification order under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act.
These notices relate to a number of multi-unit residential buildings that are experiencing water ingress issues as a result of poor quality work. This again sends the clear message to the industry that the building compliance issues will be taken seriously. Over the coming months the registrar will be meeting with building certifiers to discuss the information that must be lodged at the end of a building project and to create an open dialogue with this sector of the industry.
To help the community and industry there will be improved access to information on building laws and processes, including the roles, rights and responsibilities of each person in the building project. People involved in building projects need this information so that they can make informed decisions. We have some great information on building matters on the Access Canberra and planning websites and we are constantly updating this. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to find the information that they need. To help them, Access Canberra and EPSDD have begun to collate and develop content for a dedicated web portal for building and construction. This portal will be operational in early 2019.
While I have a focus on building issues, the built environment is not just buildings and building standards. I know that concerns and issues about the way developments are planned, designed, constructed and managed are often raised in discussions about building quality. There is a wide range of work underway across planning, urban renewal, housing and related portfolios. I will be working with my colleagues in other connected portfolios to keep Canberra as one of the most livable cities in the world.
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