Building Regulatory Reform Summit 2018

From the 21st to the 22nd of February 2018, a Building Regulatory Reform Summit was held in Canberra that brought together Australia’s leaders and strategists in building control to identify opportunities and weaknesses in the current building regulatory framework. Facilitated by the Building Products Industry Council (BPIC) on behalf of the wider building industry, the Summit explored the views and concerns of over 40 government, industry and community organisations involved with or affected by the building control system.

The Summit was aimed at uncovering the inflection points where small tweaks could lead to big change, and conceiving mechanisms and new governance models that might produce a more consistent and effective national building control paradigm – regardless of differences in jurisdictional approaches or the amount of funding allocated to the administration of these systems.

By the end of the Summit, participants had gained valuable insight into tho the problems besetting the Australian building control system and committed to working together to find practical ways to fix the issues, with the first action being to draft a White Paper, titled: “Rebuilding Confidence: An Action Plan for Building Regulatory Reform” The content of this document has been principally drawn from the presentations, workshop discussions and ensuing industry dialogue and collaboration resulting from the Summit.

Rebuilding Confidence: An Action Plan for Building Regulatory Reform

Summit Program

Summit Presentations:

Simplifying Planning and Building Regulations [5.8 MB] • We are becoming over regulated in the building industry which adds costs.
• Innovation must be encouraged in planning and building processes.
• Housing affordability will be assisted by new ideas in building.
• Prefabrication must be part of a smarter building approach in Australia.
Chris Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Taskforce Australia

The State of Contemporary Property Development Structures and Systems in Australia [3.8 MB] • The current state (and decay) of property development systems and practices.
• How we got here: The history of decay of those systems 1950 to 2017.
• Construction and Property Development System breakdowns.
• How we move forward: A Scenario based risk framework.
Dr Jonathan Drane, Western Sydney University, Sydney Graduate School of Management

On Shaky Ground: What’s wrong with New Zealand’s regulatory system and how to fix it [7.3 MB]

On shaky Ground – Transcript [141 kB] • New Zealand building regulatory system.
• Compliance pathways.
• Product approvals.
• Sign offs and certification.
Rosemary (Rosie) Killip, Founder, Building Networks NZ

Cracks in the Compact City: Tackling Split Incentives in the Multi-Unit Market [1.6 MB] • What are we talking about? The recent scale of multi-unit development.
• Quality in the multi-unit market – buyer beware.
• Conceptualising the split incentive problem: risk shifting and fragmented decision-making.
• Possible solutions: integrated procurement, risk sharing and culture shift.
Prof Bill Randolph, Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW

Lessons Learned from the Non-Compliant Façade Fiasco [8.8 MB] • How did we arrive at the façade compliance problem and who is responsible?
• Who should cover rectification costs?
• Why is the system making it so hard to fix the problem?
• When do we have to get on top of it?
Dr. Jonathan Barnett, Technical Director, RED Fire Engineers Pty Ltd

Best practice elements of enlightened building control for the third millennium – 2018 and beyond [0.6 MB] • Best practice enforcement and compliance.
• Models that are conducive to economic sustainability of probity regimes.
• Maximising construction quality outcomes and public safety.
• Statutory approval regimes.
Kim Lovegrove RML, F.A.I.B – Lovegrove & Cotton Lawyers

Accountability in Certification [1.5 MB] • Accountability issues – the big picture.
• Improving the certification of buildings.
Michael Wynn-Jones, Associate – UTS lnstitute for Public Policy and Governance

Product-Specific NCC Performance Solutions and Part A2 Compliance Pathways [10.1 MB] • The performance-based NCC allows only three compliance pathways.
• Site-specific performance solutions and NCC Part A2.
• A case study of external wall weatherproofing.
• How to improve understanding and compliance.
• The importance of performance-based design principles for products and buildings.
Stephen Kip – Fire Safety Engineer & Building Surveyor, Adjunct Associate Professor, Victoria University College of Engineering & Science.

Insurance Implications of Non-Conforming Buildings – Transcript [106 kB] • How do insurers set premiums?
• How do insurers assess non-conformance?
• Insurance implications of detected non-conformance?
Karl Sullivan, General Manager Policy, Risk and Disaster Planning Directorate – Insurance Council of Australia

Organisations that Participated in the Summit