Page 1713 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
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MR RAMSAY: I thank Ms Orr for her question. We are in the final round of consultation now on our new set of building documentation guidelines. These will complement the parts of the Building Act that state that building approval applications must contain sufficient information and that certifiers must make sure that all requirements for plans they are provided with are met.
We have been working to develop the guidelines over a significant period of time. Local industry associations who represent builders, certifiers, building designers, architects, engineers, heating and cooling experts, plumbers and electricians, and construction employee representatives have all been involved in this process.
This final round of consultation on the draft guidelines is ongoing. I look forward to the input from our stakeholders in industry and other partners. Today’s announcement outlined a time line for implementation, including a date for release of the final guidelines, as well as a date for their implementation. However, of course, there is nothing to prevent developers and designers from working to this final draft of the guidelines from today. Certifiers can use this as a standard document from today.
I encourage all of our industry professionals to feed into the process to ensure that we create useful guidelines and to ensure that the quality of building documentation provided to builders in the territory is very high. This will help raise the quality of building throughout the territory.
MS ORR: Can the minister explain why these guidelines are important?
MR RAMSAY: I thank Ms Orr for the supplementary question. The change is to ensure that building work is not approved until there are good quality plans that properly describe what will be built. Some approvals do this already, but this change will clarify the law to ensure that this is always the case.
It will give certifiers a tool to insist on good building plans, giving them a standard to point to as a minimum requirement. It will give building designers, such as architects, guidance on the level of detail they must include when designing a building. This will give them the tools to better scope and contract for design services, to ensure that their designs have sufficient details to determine whether the building complies with legislated standards. It will give builders a minimum set of details that they can expect to receive, which will give them the ability to accurately price and plan building work and help them see what is needed for the building to meet those building standards.
The change will clarify the law to ensure that those building in the territory know what to expect in their design documents. It will provide standards that people must meet. Through this it will ensure that everyone across the profession has a common understanding of what is required and how it is presented.
MS CHEYNE: Minister, can you outline how this change fits into the government’s broader suite of reforms for the building industry?
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