Industry groups call for urgent Australia-wide action on building regulation
Joint Statement by Australian Construction Industry Forum, Ai Group, Insurance Council of Australia, Master Builders Australia and Property Council of Australia.
23 July 2019
Australia’s fragmented approach to regulatory enforcement and compliance with building regulations requires a renewed commitment to national action to maintain public confidence in our built environment. The concerns of the signatories are characterised by the following:
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Australian and international insurers are introducing strict cladding-related exclusions in mandatory professional indemnity insurance products for building practitioners in the building supply chain.
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The discovery of major defects in buildings has significantly reduced the ability of those building owners to find an insurer willing to accept the risk.
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State and territory governments have not taken a consistent and comprehensive approach to undertaking and completing audits of existing high-rise buildings with combustible cladding, nor developed a remediation strategy.
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Governments are taking an inconsistent and fragmented approach to implementing reforms described in the Shergold-Weir report, which was released 18 months ago.
Though some action has been taken
to amend the
National Construction Code (NCC) and effectively eliminate
the use of many types of combustible cladding on new building facades,
the response of state and territory governments to dealing with cladding
on existing
buildings has been patchy and inconsistent.
The building, construction, property and insurance industries have
continued their calls for state and territory governments to adopt a
consistent and best practice regulatory response to the challenges
presented by combustible cladding.
Positive action has been taken in some jurisdictions, however other
states are lagging and the continued inconsistency in the approach
across governments is manifesting in the crisis confronting building
practitioners in the building supply chain. This has led to significant
increases in professional indemnity premiums and a reduction in cover
via exclusions on combustible cladding and non-conforming building
products.
Building surveyors, engineers and architects are now struggling to
obtain the insurance they need to do their job, which in turn could
seriously affect future building or construction activity.
Consumers, building owners, building practitioners and their insurers
need certainty and confidence in building regulation. Building and
construction, when combined with the property sector, is the nation’s
largest industry, provides the most full-time jobs and is a vital engine
of economic growth. The economy must not be put at risk by the failure
to provide certainty through a consistent approach in dealing with these
issues.
The entire building and construction supply chain risks being further
impacted by this continued uncertainty, and industry participants want
to work cooperatively with governments to rebuild that confidence.
We urge the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments to work
together in providing certainty through a uniform national approach to
dealing with these matters.
What needs to be done
As organisations representing the building, construction, property and
insurance industries, we urge the Federal Government to play a
leadership role and bring together all state and territory governments
to:
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Develop and implement a consistent and best practice Australia-wide response for risk assessment and a rectification strategy for existing buildings with combustible cladding with an agreed timetable that reflects the urgency of the issue. This will reduce confusion, clarify the scale of the challenge and support a viable professional indemnity insurance market that provides the coverage needed by industry participants and building owners.
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Establish a joint government-industry taskforce to oversee urgent and consistent implementation of all Shergold-Weir report recommendations across all jurisdictions.
--ENDS--
Source: Property Council - www.propertycouncil.com.au
Contact:
Media contacts: Ai Group: Tony Melville 0419 190 347
Insurance Council of Australia: Campbell Fuller 0407 170 50
Master Builders Australia: Ben Carter 0447 775 507
Property Council of Australia: Matt Francis 0467 777 220
Australian Construction Industry Forum: Stella McKinney 0423 663 544
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