Page 3251 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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have expanded our builders licensing exams so that we have the toughest licensing in the country. We have continued to roll out reforms to make a real difference in the industry here.
As many in this place will be aware, I attended the building ministers forum last month. It was an incredibly productive meeting where all states, territories and the commonwealth agreed on the further action to be taken at a national level to improve building quality.
All the states and territories have agreed to fund a new implementation team within the Australian Building Codes Board to develop an amendment to the national construction code to specifically address the design, construction and certification of complex buildings. This will give further guidance to the industry on how we expect these buildings to be built and specify the extra steps that will be expected to ensure that they are built well.
At the meeting a number of states also approached the ACT to find out about our nation-leading builder and surveyor codes of practice, including asking to come and speak further with us about how they can be implemented in their jurisdictions.
MS ORR: Can the minister outline how these reforms will help the regulator improve the quality of building in the city and ensure that the building industry is held to account?
MR RAMSAY: I thank Ms Orr for the supplementary question. Our reform program is designed to give the regulator the tools that he needs to better enforce building quality standards here in the ACT. Our certifiers code of practice makes clear what we expect of them. Our minimum documentation guidelines set out what we expect in building plans so that more thought goes into the design of buildings early on and so that builders are not left guessing.
All of this is linked to the builder’s and the certifier’s licences. If they do not follow the rules, they risk their ability to work in the sector. We have introduced builders licence exams to check that those entering the industry have sufficient skills and sufficient knowledge to do the work. We are re-testing those who renew their licence who have a history of non-compliance or who let their licence lapse. We will not allow people whose skills and knowledge are not up to scratch to work in this industry.
We have created a mandatory course for certifiers so that they understand their responsibilities. We have made changes to the licencing system so that those who phoenix are unable to shift their licence to a new company. We call on the federal government to reform the corporations act to better target those who do engage in phoenixing.
We have expanded statutory warranties to cover buildings over three storeys to 10 years, so that builders remain responsible for their work regardless of building height. We have delineated agency agreements from building contracts so that consumers are more aware of when they are appointing a certifier. Our reforms are
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