Page 1597 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 July 2020
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This year we have completed a new training course for building surveyors and people operating under the ACT’s building regulatory system. We have released guidelines for licensed builders that will form the basis of a new code of practice to be introduced by 1 July 2021. We have passed legislation to implement an alternative dispute resolution scheme for residential building work. We have reviewed the ACT security of payment system against the recommendations of the national review of security of payment laws. We have developed information sheets for people entering into a residential building contract or purchasing off the plan, with explanations of common terms, things to look for and consider, and rights and obligations; and we have enacted a regulation requiring building certifiers to supply information about stage inspections on houses and buildings that include residential apartments shortly after the inspection is complete.
We have also finalised an inspection and auditing tool that supports proactive auditing of practitioners, documentation and buildings currently under construction against obligations in the Building Act, the Building Code, the documentation guideline, and the building surveyors code of practice. Purpose-built from scratch specifically for the ACT, the auditing project has recently been awarded an international special achievement in geographic information systems award. The award recognises innovation in using data from various sources and the tool’s potential to help mitigate risks to the community from failure to meet building standards.
Many of the reforms that we have completed have also completed those suggested by the Building confidence report. The two remaining reforms on which work is in progress are: reviewing ACT government procurement arrangements for security of retentions and progress payments, and implementing mandatory qualifications for corporate and partnership licences, including financial assessment.
Just as the reforms have created tools to support regulation, policy and legislative changes need to be supported by effective regulatory functions. Last year, the ACT government doubled the size of the building inspectorate in Access Canberra to regulate the building industry, including more staff for building inspections and for ongoing rapid response to building complaints.
Madam Speaker, from 1 July 2019 to 26 June 2020, the registrar issued six notices of intention to make a rectification order, resulting in five rectification orders to licensed builders. In addition, two emergency rectification orders have been made to licensed builders. Three property owners have also been ordered to undertake building work. Fifty-nine stop notices were issued, of which 35 remain in place. As well as formal regulatory action, the registrar has issued 127 demerit points to construction licensees.
In the 2019-20 financial year, Access Canberra undertook more than 28,000 electrical inspections; over 16,500 plumbing and drainage inspections; and approximately 4,200 gas inspections. For building and planning matters, Access Canberra undertook 487 inspections of building or planning matters in relation to a complaint; 1,086 documentation audits; and 730 proactive onsite audits.
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