Industry consultation on the development of strong new guidelines for building approvals has been launched by the Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Gordon Ramsay.
In doing so, Mr Ramsay said the Government had also begun consultation on new codes of practice for builders and building certifiers.
Mr Ramsay said the new documentation guidelines, coupled with the new codes of practice, would ensure the industry had a strong measure of accountability when considering building applications.
“These new measures will clarify what minimum documentation is required by an applicant seeking building approval, and building certifiers will be able to see exactly what is proposed and whether it complies with the building code and the ACT Building Act,” Mr Ramsay said.
“Importantly, any breach by a builder or building certifier against the new codes of practice will result in action being undertaken by the Construction Occupations Registrar.”
He said the guidelines were being released as a preview to allow for final industry comments before being enshrined in legislation.
“The content of the codes and guidelines will be settled by 30 June and mandatory compliance with the guidelines and codes will commence from 1 September,” Mr Ramsay said.
“The guidelines cover building applications for all new and substantially altered apartment buildings and commercial buildings, also requiring designers to provide information on the maintenance requirements for essential safety systems in buildings, such as the fire protection systems,” he said.
The 93-page guideline can be accessed at this PS News link.
