Page 4195 - Week 13 - Thursday, 2 December 2021
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construction occupation is required to adhere to meet their obligations as set out in the Construction Occupation Licensing Act 2004 and the various relevant operational Acts including the Building Act 2004, Electrical Safety Act 1971 and the Gas Safety Act 2000. Builders must be licensed to complete work that requires a building approval. Builders who employ or sub-contract other people to carry out building work, and other work such as electrical, plumbing and gasfitting, must make sure these people are appropriately qualified and, if required, licensed.
The ACT Government has already undertaken reforms to improve the ACT’s building regulatory system and there has been work at the national level to progress the recommendations arising from the Building Confidence Report (BCR). The BCR recommended that each jurisdiction requires the registration of the following categories of building practitioners involved in the design construction and maintenance of buildings:
• Builder
• Site or Project Manager
• Building Surveyor
• Building Inspector
• Architect
• Engineer
• Designer/Draftsperson
• Plumber
• Fire Safety Practitioner
The ACT already requires the licensing or registration of the many of this group of building practitioners and the ACT Government has already committed to implement an Engineer Registration Scheme for the ACT, of which work is underway on developing the scheme. The ACT Government has also already committed to undertaking further work as part of a second stage of building reforms looking at licensing and accountability of practitioners in the building industry. This work is informed by areas where issues are identified and the cost and regulatory burden of licensing will have a benefit.
It is important to note that licensing and registration is only one regulatory mechanism available to governments and regulators and the ACT reforms to date, and the recommendations of the BCR, have been much broader then just licensing and registration. Reforms in the ACT to date have included the development of improved tools for auditing, minimum documentation requirements, increased protections for consumers and greater accountability for building certifiers. Different jurisdictions have taken different approaches with respect to trade licensing, with some choosing to license a greater range of practitioners and others focusing on those with direct responsibility for ensuring the requirements of the National Construction Code are met.
Due to differing jurisdictional policies and practices, licences issued for the same occupational area by individual jurisdictions often have different parameters and different eligibility requirements and scopes of work allowed. Different licence nomenclature, duration, licence structures and fee structures generally apply.
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