Page 978 - Week 03 - Thursday, 21 March 2019
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practitioners or buying off the plan, as well as for practitioners who work in the ACT. It will include information about building and planning requirements, approval processes, licensing, standards and codes of practice, complaints and dispute resolution, and building reforms. It will also include links for people to download building, buying and strata guides.
As I have previously said in this place, building problems are not just an ACT issue but a national issue. Under the Building Ministers Forum, building ministers are considering systemic changes that could be made nationally and in each jurisdiction.
I believe that we are further along in this journey than most, due to the work undertaken in the thorough review of our laws and regulatory system. No-one else applies an examination for new licensees, as we do here in the ACT. We have proactive powers available to the registrar to direct all licensees in a category to undertake training, which most other states do not have. We have strong frameworks for rectification above what many other states have. We have significantly higher requirements for building approval documentation than other states. The work that we are doing is to strengthen and clarify these requirements and ensure that practitioners are held to account.
We have considered not only technical issues associated with the national construction code but also how these relate to other aspects of the system such as contracting, dispute resolution and statutory protections for building owners. We have implemented systemic reforms that can make real improvements to the standards of practice in the industry. We have a clear program for reform over the next 18 months, and we will see it through. We have increased education, compliance and enforcement activities to help prevent problems or resolve them quickly and effectively if they occur.
Madam Speaker, the government will continue its work to improve the ACT building regulatory system. I welcome the support that we have received from community and industry members for this work. I look forward to updating the Assembly again at a later date. I present the following paper:
Building Regulatory Reforms—Ministerial statement, 21 March 2019.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the paper.
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (3.03): A number of things that we have heard from the minister are quite encouraging. From my observation, he is having more of a crack in this space than his predecessor did. It is encouraging for us to hear more about these real occasions of rectification, in particular the rapid regulatory response unit trial, which I have been watching with much interest. It does look as though it is reaping rewards there.
What we have seen today is the minister responding to pressures on him to recognise the seriousness of the threats to the community imposed by building quality
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