The Government has announced its plan in response to the Building Confidence Report commissioned by the Building Ministers’ Forum in August 2017.
The independent expert review by Professor Peter Shergold AC and Bronwyn Weir examined building regulatory systems around Australia and found there are national problems in the construction industry.
In response to the Building Confidence Report, the Government will support the majority of recommendations, including requiring that:
- building designers, including engineers, declare that building plans specify a building that will comply with the Building Code of Australia,
- builders declare that buildings have been built according to their plans. and
- requiring building designers and builders to be registered for this purpose.
The NSW Government will appoint a Building Commissioner to act as the consolidated building regulator in NSW, including responsibility for licensing and auditing practitioners.
The plan will also clarify the law to ensure there is an industry-wide duty of care to homeowners and owners corporations so they have the right to compensation where a building practitioner has been negligent.