I am pleased that the Building Ministers Forum has favorably considered our Assessment of building regulation systems and 24 recommendations which, if implemented would represent a national best practice approach to building regulation. The terms of reference required us to focus on the effective implementation of the National Construction Code and identified 10 problems for our consideration. We were asked to review each of the 8 jurisdiction’s regulatory frameworks as well as previous reports commission on building regulatory issues. We undertook 53 consultations with industry and governments. The recommendations are aimed at:
- increasing the capacity and competency of industry participants;
- improving regulatory oversight;
- increasing quality of documentation;
- creating central repositories of documentation for access by regulators and building owners; and
- providing greater rigor around the design, installation, certification and maintenance of fire safety systems.
The recommendations are a package which are intended to increase competency and transparency and improve confidence in the building sector. Jurisdictions will already meet some of the recommendations but each will have their own work program if they decide to implement them in full.
A link to the report and to the BMF’s implementation is at https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/building-confidence-building-ministers-forum-expert-assessment
Bronwyn Weir