The NSW government has the authority to prevent the use of unsafe building products in building and construction. Under the Building Products (Safety) Act 2017 which came into effect in December 2017, the government has powers to identify, restrict and rectify building products which pose a safety risk in buildings.
A building product is any material that is, or could be, used in the construction of a building.
Building product bans
A building product ban can be put in place on any or all of a building product’s uses if the use of the product could cause serious injury or death.
If a ban is issued the reasons for imposing the ban will be specified.
A ban may identify specific unsafe uses or all uses of a building product. It could also identify a specific building to which the ban relates.
Any person or corporation who does not comply with the requirements of the ban will be subject to large fines. A corporation found to be using a banned building product can be fined up to $1.1million and individuals can be fined up to $220,000.
Products that are being assessed, under investigation or banned are listed in the Current notices section below.
If you have concerns about a building product, you can report your concerns to NSW Fair Trading online or by calling 13 32 20.
Investigation and assessment of building products
The NSW Government has the power to investigate building products which may be unsafe for use.
Where appropriate, manufacturers or suppliers will be required to have their products analysed or tested to ensure they are safe for use. If a building product is determined to be unsafe, the results of the assessment may be published in the Current notices section below.
Builders, building product suppliers, manufacturers and importers can be compelled to produce their records so dangerous building products can be tracked and pinpointed. NSW Fair Trading investigators have the power to contact any person who uses a potentially unsafe building product, or has information about the product which may assist with NSW Fair Trading’s investigation.
If you have any information you would like to report on a building product, please contact Fair Trading on 13 32 20 or lodge your concerns online.
Rectification of building work
NSW Fair Trading will notify the local council or relevant authority of any building that contains banned products. If appropriate, the council or relevant authority will issue a rectification order and report back to NSW Fair Trading.
NSW Fair Trading will closely monitor the progress of all buildings that have been referred to councils and relevant authorities, to ensure that appropriate steps have been taken in relation to the safety risks posed by the building products.
Owners and tenants of buildings that are referred to the local council or relevant authority will be notified of the possible safety risk of the building product. If there is a risk posed to the community, the building’s details may be published in the Current notices section below.
Register of undertakings
If someone (for example a builder, developer or tradesperson) breaches building product safety laws or Fair Trading thinks they are likely to breach the law, or suspect they have already breached the law then that person may accept an undertaking (which is a legally binding agreement) to put additional safety measures in place that will mitigate the risk posed by an unsafe building product
The NSW Government is required to maintain a register of any building product undertakings accepted under the Building Products (Safety) Act 2017.
Current undertakings are listed in the register below:
Register of undertakings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Copy of the undertaking | Copy of each variation of the undertaking | Name and address of the person who gave the undertaking | Date of the undertaking |
| Nil | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Current notices
Building product safety laws require the NSW Government to publish certain notices. For example, building product use bans, building safety notices and affected building notices.
Current notifications are listed below:
Call for submissions on cladding – submissions closed 23 April 2018
Building product use ban for the use of certain types of aluminium composite panels (PDF, 340.77 KB) - published 15 August 2018
Aluminium composite panel ban
The Commissioner has imposed a building product use ban for aluminium composite panels with a core comprised of greater than 30% polyethylene by mass
Toughened glass
Information on the safety standards of toughened glass and shower screens.
Non-conforming building products
Information on the product safety of building products includes non-conforming and non-complying products.