Page 1114 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 May 2020
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The display case supplied by the taskforce is a simple, clear case, measuring approximately 36 centimetres by 21 centimetres. Being clear and moderately sized, the display case and the AMP inside will not be highly visible from the street. The exact location of the display case will be tailored to each individual property, with consideration to balancing the safety needs of those entering the house and the privacy needs of the owner and residents. The taskforce will discuss the planned location for the display case with the owner of each property and provide assistance to install the case, if needed. The bill further accommodates the privacy needs of owners by allowing for personal information to be removed from the AMP prior to it being displayed and by requiring asbestos assessors to, where practicable, exclude photographs from the report that show any personal effects.
Thirdly, the bill introduces changes to the length of the validity period of an AMP, which is currently set at two years for all properties. The bill introduces the ability for a licensed asbestos assessor to determine an appropriate validity period between six months and two years, based on the individual property. This flexibility will provide for greater currency of affected premises condition reports and so support community safety while not enforcing onerous assessment requirements when not necessary.
The government acknowledges that this change to the AMP validity period may require a home owner to get an AMP more regularly. The cost of attaining an AMP is generally between $400 and $1,000, depending on the property and the number of samples taken. To address any financial hardship issues, home owners can apply to the taskforce for an early release of their relocation assistance that is equal to the cost of obtaining the AMP. I also note that the bill allows for an internal review if the home owner feels that the validity period of less than two years is unreasonable.
I now address how the bill will implement restrictions on development and building approvals. Consistent with the government’s commitment to the removal of all loose-fill affected properties from Canberra’s suburbs, this bill introduces restrictions to prevent unnecessary development or building works at properties on the affected residential premises register. This bill achieves this by removing a range of development and building exemptions and restrictions approvals.
Works will be approved only if they are essential for health, safety or reasonable living conditions or if they involve the demolition of an affected building. While some minor works that are not directly associated with an affected structure will remain exempt, such as installing a fence or a letterbox or establishing a site shed that might be needed for demolition work, other works which were previously exempted, such as internal alterations, will now require approval. Applications for approval will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Guidelines will be published to provide information to home owners and industry on what works will be permitted as essential for health, safety or reasonable living conditions. The taskforce will also continue to work with the Council on the Ageing and other key stakeholders to understand the kinds of works that may be required, particularly to support ageing occupants.
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