Review into the NSW Building Reforms.
Elizabeth Carpenter, NSW Chapter President and Lisa King, NSW Executive Director, appeared at the Parliamentary Inquiry for the Public Accountability and Works Committee yesterday.
We spoke with the Committee about the Institute’s close collaboration with the Department of Fair Trading and now the Building Commission NSW over many years. We have seen the resultant reforms deliver vast improvement in lifting quality, reducing defects and building better.
However, it has not been seamless. In some areas of the Design and Building Practitioners’ Act, which we highlighted in our submission to the Committee, there is ongoing work to be done.
We support the Bill’s intended objectives: to enhance safety, resilience, and accountability across the building industry, further improve consumer protection, and introduce licensing for currently unlicensed practitioners.
We told the Committee that, unfortunately, the preliminary nature of the current documentation limits our ability to support the Bill itself at this stage. The absence of draft regulations and insufficient detail in the draft Bill make it unclear whether its legislative intent will be achieved.
It is hoped the Inquiry process will result in the Government working with industry to move forward with clarity and confidence. We remain committed to working with Government to ensure the best built outcome for NSW consumers.