The ACT Government has today released its response to the Legislative Assembly's Inquiry into Building Quality in the ACT.
Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction Rebecca Vassarotti tabled the response in the Legislative Assembly this afternoon, saying the ACT has made a range of improvements to the building regulatory system over the last couple of years with more reforms on their way.
"Buildings that comply with standards for health, safety, amenity and sustainability are important in maintaining the wellbeing of people in our community," Minister Vassarotti said.
"The reforms the Government has delivered so far have focused on key areas such as design, stage inspection and supervision, licensing, auditing, and new powers for the regulator to take action when needed.
"The second stage of reforms will address issues around licensing and accountability of people designing, building, certifying and contracting for buildings off-the-plan; insurance and other protections for clients and building owners; implementing a residential building dispute resolution scheme; and security of payment issues.
"The Government has also committed to introduce a property developer licensing scheme and re-establish a team of building certifiers in the public sector. I will also continue to work with building ministers in other jurisdictions on national building reforms and standards as recommended through the Building Confidence Report, where they apply to the ACT.
"I am pleased to say that this wide-ranging program of reforms is addressing the vast majority of recommendations from the inquiry report."
In response to Standing Committee on Economic Development and Tourism Report 9 - Inquiry into Building Quality in the ACT, the ACT Government has:
- agreed to 12 recommendations
- agreed in principle with 20 recommendations
- noted 12 recommendations
- not agreed with 4 recommendations.
"The Government has not agreed with four recommendations from the committee, as other measures we already have in place can deliver similar or better outcomes for building quality," Minister Vassarotti said.
The Government's response will be uploaded to the Legislative Assembly's Inquiry webpage in the coming days, and is available today upon request.
