Building Commissioner starts multi-unit construction inspections
Posted on : Tuesday, 9 February 2021
The Building Commissioner has made good on his promises to begin
investigating poor quality developments and act against those
responsible.
Using powers awarded to him under the Residential Apartment
Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020, the
Commissioner is now visiting sites and issuing stop work notices to
recalcitrant builders who are choosing not to address safety
concerns.
The Commissioner has implemented an occupation certificate audit
program, to make sure that buildings cannot be settled upon before
all required work has been completed and all defects
rectified.
This program involves:
- go anywhere, any time audits: audits
that can happen at any stage of the development, whether randomly
selected, the result of a tip-off, based on previous performance by
the practitioners involved, or in collaboration with other
government agencies;
- Design and Declared Design audits:
a program that aligns with the Design and Building
Practitioners Act 2020 (DBP Act), which will audit up to 15%
of declared designs a year; and
- As-built and Declared As-built drawings:
checking to confirm that plans are compliant with regulated
requirements and reflect the actual design of the building.
Again, 15% of designs are scheduled for auditing.
These inspections are occurring in the lead-up to the
commencement of the DBP Act on 1 July, 2021. FPA
Australia has provided feedback on the regulations underpinning the
Act and will work with the Department to ensure that the fire
industry works effectively.
The actions taken by the Building Commissioner are just the
start, as his focus to crack down on poor performing designers and
builders intensifies.
The Department is collecting data - good and bad - from all of
these interactions to support research projects that will help to
improve construction in the State.
What we do know is that construction as it used to be is about
to change.
And that can only be a good thing.