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While Queensland’s building and construction activity was surging in 2021-2022, the building industry regulator was proactively inspecting more than 1,300 active projects to help reduce defective work and identify potentially risky or dangerous products, to better protect the safety of consumers and building industry participants.
Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) officers undertook inspections of 1,375 active building projects during 2021-2022, to identify potential issues as quickly as possible.
During the inspections, officers identified 161 defects, of which 126 were remedied promptly through education, advice or information, while 35 required further rectification action from the builders and contractors responsible for the work.
QBCC Commissioner, Anissa Levy, says the 35 defects represent only 2.5 per cent of the 1,375 inspections of active work, which indicates that the majority of work being done and materials being used comply with all appropriate standards.
“These inspections help to ensure that work is done safely and to standard and allow us towork with builders and contractors in an educative and informative manner as soon as a potential problem is detected,” Ms Levy says.
“Early detection of issues helps to prevent additional costs and delays with a building project, and can help avoid future QBCC action for non-compliant or defective work.”
QBCC officers have continued to monitor the 35 defective work issues, and have returned to sites when necessary to ensure the required rectification work has occurred.
The QBCC inspections helped identify a number of matters requiring rectification by builders and contractors, including:
The inspections also resulted in a number of potentially non-conforming building products (NCBP) being referred to the QBCC’s NCBP team for further investigation, including:
Further investigations of these products by the QBCC revealed either no evidence or insufficient evidence to determine the products to be non-conforming for their intended use.
“These proactive inspections are a valuable tool for providing peace of mind to the people performing the work and those who will eventually utilise or live in these constructions,” Ms Levy says.
Queensland’s building industry watchdog has successfully prosecuted four building owners for failing to provide required documentation to the QBCC for potentially combustible cladding on six buildings they own.
The four owners of the buildings pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court in May, June, and August in separate cases brought by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC).
One owner was charged with three counts of failing to provide the QBCC a completed combustible cladding checklist, a Building Fire Safety Risk Assessment and a Fire Engineer Statement, in contravention of the Building Regulation 2006 (Qld).
The charges related to three separate private buildings, and resulted in a total of $15,000 in fines and an order to pay $750 in legal costs.
The other three owners pleaded guilty to the same charges, in relation to their individual properties, and were fined $8,000, $7,000 and $5,000 respectively and ordered to pay legal costs.
QBCC Commissioner, Anissa Levy, said the Safer Buildings Program had helped create more certainty and safety in regard to construction materials used on Queensland buildings.
“These laws help protect us all in the buildings where we live, work and gather, and were introduced following the tragic death of 72 people in London’s Grenfell Tower,” Ms Levy says.
The QBCC is currently prosecuting a number of other private building owners in Queensland who have allegedly failed to submit the required documentation.
BACKGROUND
The Queensland Government introduced changes to the Building Regulation 2006, which commenced on 1 October, 2018.
The changes required owners of particular buildings to undertake an assessment of the material used on the external walls of their building using the combustible cladding checklist.
The checklist process is designed to identify which buildings are affected by combustible cladding and whether cladding rectification work is likely to be required to achieve an acceptable level of safety.
The deadline for building owners to submit the checklist without penalty was 3 May, 2021.
Failure to submit the checklist is an offence and may result in regulatory action, including monetary penalties and prosecution in the Magistrates Court.
Non-conforming building product laws apply to you as an installer, to ensure the products you are installing are not non-conforming building products (NCBPs).
An installer is a person in the chain of responsibility in relation to non-conforming building product laws. Therefore, you need to ensure the products you are installing are listed on the WaterMark Schedule of Products (refer to the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) website) and that the product is WaterMark certified to meet the regulatory provisions.
According to the ABCB website, if a product listed on the Schedule of Products is to be installed in Australia, including those purchased via online stores the product must be:
Any associated product packaging and promotional material must also be marked with the WaterMark trademark and licence number.
QBCC recommends referring to the Manual for the WaterMark Certification Scheme to ensure the product you are installing complies.
ABCB also states, if your client is supplying their own plumbing products for you to install, remember to ask them to look for the WaterMark and to only supply you with WaterMark certified products. Buying WaterMark certified products means they are fit for purpose, authorised for installation and safe for you and your clients.
The use of NCBPs is a nation-wide issue that affects everyone. While Queensland has a rigorous building certification process, safety is always of the utmost importance, and our buildings need to meet high standards.
The Non-Conforming Building Products Amendment to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (the QBCC Act) commenced on 1 November 2017. The laws place greater obligations on everyone in the chain of responsibility to ensure their products are fit for the intended use.
The laws ensure every person in the chain of responsibility for building products is accountable, with the intent to improve the safety of Queensland buildings.
The QBCC Act defines building products and non-conforming building products as:
Compliance with the relevant regulatory provisions means—
A person (or company) is in the Chain of Responsibility if the person:
A person (or company) is the installer if they:
For more information about NCBPs and your responsibilities as a person in the chain of responsibility visit Non-conforming building products on QBCC's website.
For more information about WaterMark Certification visit the ABCBs website at abcb.gov.au.
