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As regulator for the building industry, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) is responsible for administering laws that relate to non-conforming building products (NCBP) and building products subject to recall orders or corresponding recall orders.
A building product is considered a NCBP if it is any of the following:
The Minister can make a recall order in respect of NCBPs. The responsible person for the building product must comply with the order, including the requirement not to supply or install the product.
Building products may also be subject to a corresponding recall order, for example, where a product is recalled by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). These are also captured by Queensland’s NCBP laws. Failure to follow the requirements stated in recall orders issued by the QBCC or a corresponding recall order, is a regulatory offence under the Queensland Building and Construction Act 1991 (QBCC Act) and may give rise to the issuing of a penalty infringement notice or prosecution.
If a person who designs, manufactures, imports, supplies, or installs a building product sees that the ACCC have recalled a building product they have a duty to report this to the QBCC.
As required, the ACCC will notify the public of recalled products including building products.
Some recent recall notices issued by the ACCC for building products include:
A full list of ACCC product recalls can be found on their website, along with information about what to do if affected by a recall.
For more information visit Your responsibilities with NCBP.
The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only. Although the QBCC endeavours to provide accurate and current information, it does not warrant, represent or guarantee that the information communicated in this blog is in all respects accurate, complete or current. The QBCC is not liable for any loss, damage or claims arising from incorrect or out-of-date information or any decisions or actions made, or actions taken, on reliance on the information contained in this blog. The information conveyed does not constitute legal or other specialist advice and should not be relied upon as such.
If you have any questions as to how the NCBP laws apply to you, you should obtain appropriate independent professional advice regarding how to discharge your duties under the QBCC Act and achieve compliance with relevant regulatory provisions for building products. This is especially important if you (or your company) intend to later rely upon that advice to demonstrate satisfaction of your duties under Part 6AA of the QBCC Act or other legislative obligations.
Public safety and that of building industry members has been enhanced by the building regulator raising awareness about potentially non-conforming building products (NCBPs).
The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) has contacted almost 58,000 of its licensees, urging them to remain vigilant about the products they use and providing them with information about preventing NCBPs related to their licence classes.
In Queensland, each person in the building chain of responsibility – from designers to home owners - has a duty to ensure their actions do not lead to NCBPs being supplied or used in association with a building.
QBCC Commissioner, Anissa Levy, says the regulator has identified several product types that could pose problems for workers in some licence classes.
“With different products coming onto the market and work sites all the time, it can be difficult to keep up, so we are developing a range of technical fact sheets to help licensees check if a product could be non-conforming.
“For instance, we’ve contacted about 40,000 builders, carpenters, tilers and other licensees about the use of vinyl products in wet areas and the need for portable or temporary dwellings to comply with the National Construction Code,” Ms Levy says.
Other licensees who have been contacted include more than 17,000 in plumbing classes, to highlight issues with watermark certification and the use of vinyl products in wet areas.
About 800 glass glazing and aluminium licensees have also been contacted and provided information about windows and glazed external doors and ways to help ensure the product they supply or install is not an NCBP.
Ms Levy says several other fact sheets are currently being written by QBCC technical staff and will be provided to licensees when they are completed.
“We are always looking to provide licensees with the most current technical and other information to reduce defective and non-compliant work and to limit the risk of NCBPs.”
More information about responsibilities around NCBPs is available on the QBCC website.
In 2022, National Asbestos Awareness Week (21-27 November) is asking Australians to “Think Twice About Asbestos”. The national safety program is aimed at encouraging home occupiers and tradespeople to ‘do things the right way’ by ensuring the proper and lawful disposal of asbestos.
The QBCC is proud to support this important safety initiative and promote public understanding about laws in Queensland designed to safeguard against the dangers of asbestos and other unsafe building materials in places where we live, work and play.
Non-conforming building products (NCBPs) are products that do not meet the required standards for the use in which they are intended. A building product is considered a NCBP if it is any of the following:
Under Queensland’s non-conforming building products law, every member of the construction industry supply chain (also known as the chain of responsibility), including manufacturers, suppliers and installers, must ensure the product they manufacture, supply or install is compliant and safe. Failure to do so risks significant penalties.
If a product is suspected of containing asbestos those in the chain of responsibility should satisfy themselves that the product is asbestos free and, where required, the product has been tested. For asbestos, the relevant testing standard is AS 4964- Method for the qualitative identification of asbestos in bulk samples.
If a person in the chain of responsibility does become aware, or reasonably suspects, that a building product is a NCBP, they must give the QBCC notice in an approved form, within 2 days, or earlier if possible.
Penalties also apply for failing to notify the QBCC of a NCBP when required.
To learn more about safe building product decisions go to Your responsibilities with NCBP.
World Toilet Day may sound funny to some, but it is aimed at drawing attention to the very serious issue of sanitation and has been observed by the United Nations on 19 November since 2013.
The World Toilet Organisation estimates there are 3.6 billion people in the world living with poor quality toilets that ruin their health and pollute their environment.
The QBCC supports the aims of World Toilet Day and would like to take this opportunity to promote greater understanding of the role that non-conforming building product laws play in keeping sanitation in Queensland compliant and safe.
Non-conforming building product laws are designed to ensure building products, including toilets and bidets, are of acceptable quality, meet Australian standards and are fit for their intended purpose.
A building product is considered a non-conforming building product (NCBP) if it is any of the following:
*In Australia, plumbing products including those purchased via online stores like eBay and Amazon must be:
*From Australian Building Codes Board
Any associated product packaging and promotional material must also be marked with the WaterMark trademark and licence number.
Buying WaterMark Certified products may help you to ensure the product is fit for purpose, authorised for installation and safe. It is your responsibility to ensure products are not a non-conforming building product, even if they are supplied by the client of other person.
The QBCC recommends referring to the Manual for the WaterMark Certification Scheme to ensure a product complies.
To learn more about NCBPs and your responsibilities visit the QBCC’s dedicated NCBP pages.
For more information about WaterMark Certification visit the ABCB website.