Page 3619 - Week 10 - Thursday, 19 September 2019
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campaign includes a series of short videos that feature people who are illustrating buying an apartment, renovating, buying off the plan and building a new home. They highlight some of the issues that people need to be aware of and they direct people to the website for more information.
We are not stopping there. The remainder of the reforms will be completed over this coming year. The first modules of the new building auditing tool are being rolled out in the field, helping building inspectors to identify and record Building Code compliance issues. Consultation on the draft code of practice for builders closes on 20Â September, and we will be starting consultation on alternative dispute resolution models for disputes about residential building work shortly. Over this next year we will also consult further on licensing and accountability measures for people designing and building, as well as for people contracting for off-the-plan sales. Consultation will also seek views on insurance and other protections for clients and building owners, as well as security of payments issues. The government will also continue with legislative reforms to make sure that we have a responsive and effective building regulatory framework.
As I have mentioned before in this place, while the government has a role to play, compliance and quality are not only the government’s responsibility. I welcome recent statements and correspondence that I have had from industry and community bodies about taking their own actions to help lift standards in the industry and support the work that we are doing. We are happy to work with industry and community members to make sure that we have safe, healthy, sustainable and livable buildings in the territory.
I also mentioned that building issues are national. We will continue to participate in work under the building ministers forum on reforms and collaborate to be consistent with other jurisdictions, where appropriate. But each jurisdiction is at a different stage of reform. Our program is well advanced. The reforms in the ACT program have been chosen after a comprehensive review of the ACT system and consideration of what could be genuinely effective in improving practices and competency across the industry. We will continue to implement the remainder of the reforms over the next year until the end of the term of government.
I make no apology for pushing ahead to achieve better quality buildings for all Canberrans. There are specific pieces of work that are happening nationally which the building ministers forum have agreed to fund but they are not intended to delay state and territory reforms.
This is not the ACT acting in isolation or operating differently from other jurisdictions. No state or territory has committed to delay the implementation of necessary reforms in their jurisdictions while we wait for the commonwealth. State and territory building ministers have been clear about this: states and territories needed to continue with reforms and not slow down to allow national work to catch up. The reforms in the ACT also relate to the whole building system and include aspects such as contracting, education, dispute resolution and interventions for specific issues such as documentation that are not being considered nationally but are important to lasting reform.
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