New Building Bills Introduced into Parliament in Tasmania

On 16 March 2017, the Tasmanian Parliament introduced three new Bills into the House of Assembly. The purpose of these Bills is to modernise the functions of various Government bodies and to regulate the construction, maintenance and demolition of buildings and other building and plumbing matters. It is anticipated that the Bills will generally affect:

• the building and construction industry;
• the training industry; and
• associated industries.

The Bills are currently in the House of Assembly . A brief overview of the Bills and their proposed functions are listed below.

Building Bill 2016 (Bill No 9 of 2016)

The Building Bill 2016 (the Bill) is a new approach to building and construction in Tasmania. It is part of the revised Tasmanian Building Regulatory Framework which aims to reduce unnecessary red tape and support the industry, whilst providing additional support and protection for consumers.

According to the explanatory materials, the key features of the Bill include:

•  Accreditation of building practitioners moved to the Occupational Licensing Act 2005;
• Building, plumbing and demolition approvals based on risk. Low risk work can be performed by a licensed practitioner without the need for a permit. Medium risk work, assessed by a building surveyor, can be performed by a licensed practitioner without the need for a permit, but the council must be notified. High risk work requires a permit;
• The Director of Building Control may make Determinations to react to changing circumstances within the Building and Construction Industry. The Director of Building Control will also exercise greater oversight of permit authorities and building surveyors and increased compliance auditing of practitioners;
• Greater clarity of role and functions of building surveyors and strengthened immunity from litigation when performing statutory role;
• Owner builders are limited to two projects in a 10-year period, residential only;
• Clearer process for granting occupancy permits and improved process for granting temporary occupancy permits;
• Clarified responsibilities for performance of maintenance of essential building services with the Building Levy replaced by Building Administration Fee of the same quantum, but now payable on building and plumbing work over $20,000 instead of $12,000;
• Greater emphasis on rectification of defective work and responsibility for higher standards by responsible builders or plumbers. Permit authority or building surveyor may serve Notices and Orders where illegal works have been performed, or a building is no longer fit for occupation; and
• Additional requirements for building in hazardous areas to be provided through building regulations.

The Bill also repeals the Building Act 2000, and rescinds the Building Regulations 2014 and the Plumbing Regulations 2014.

Building (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2016 (Bill No 10 of 2016)

This Bill is cognate with the proposed Building Bill 2016 and is enacted to alter references to Building Act 2000 and its regulations which are referred to in many pieces of Tasmanian legislation as it is necessary to update these Acts to refer to the proposed Building Bill/Act 2016 and the new regulations under it.

Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Amendment Bill 2016 (Bill No 11 of 2016)

The purpose of this Bill is designed to modernise the functions of the Tasmanian Building and Construction Industry Training Board in line with a contemporary Tasmanian Training and Workforce Development System.

The Board has moved from providing advice to the Minister for State Growth on training issues within the industry to broader workforce planning and development advice on the building and construction industry, businesses and their workforces.

This new practice aims to address the ageing workforce, business succession planning and making business more capable, efficient, productive and profitable. The new arrangements are anticipated to come into effect on 1 July 2016.

All three Bills are currently awaiting Second Reading Debate in the Legislative Assembly.

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Building Bill 2016 (No. 9 of 2016) – Bill and Supporting material available from TimeBase LawOne Service.

Building (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2016 (No. 10 of 2016) – Bill and Supporting material available from TimeBase LawOne Service.

Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Amendment Bill 2016 (Bill No 11 of 2016) – Bill and Supporting material available from TimeBase LawOne Service.