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Reform of building regulation

Research report

The report presents the findings of the commissioned study which examined the contribution that reform of building regulation, under the auspices of the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), has made to the productivity of the building industry and economic efficiency.

In addition, the Commission was asked to examine the scope for further reform to make additional gains.

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The building sector is subject to a diverse range of regulations by all levels of government. The Building Code of Australia (BCA), in particular, contains building standards aimed at achieving health, safety and amenity objectives.

There has been work over many years to bring a national approach to building regulation. Progress has been made, particularly in:

  • reducing differences in mandatory technical requirements across jurisdictions
  • changing the BCA to performance-based requirements, rather than prescriptive requirements.

However, this reform work is far from complete and recent developments are undermining a national and soundly based system of building regulation. The future agenda for building regulation reform should include:

  • further reducing variations across jurisdictions
  • better articulating the performance-based requirements
  • examining ways to enhance administration, compliance and enforcement systems
  • examining the BCA’s approach to property protection from fire, in dialogue with interested parties, in order to resolve differences
  • examining ways to reduce the erosion of a national approach to building regulation caused by actions of Local Governments through their planning powers
  • applying rigorous analysis to incorporating environmental requirements in the BCA.

The Australian Government, as well as the State and Territory Governments, should continue to be actively involved in building regulation reform (including funding).

A new Intergovernmental Agreement should be negotiated by all nine governments, so as to:

  • clarify the Australian Building Codes Board’s mission statement and objectives of building regulation reform
  • strengthen the commitment to national consistency
  • affirm the importance of a whole-of-government approach to building regulation initiatives
  • outline the future work agenda, drawing on recommendations contained in this study
  • emphasise the importance of the Australian Building Codes Board giving priority to its core business
  • strengthen the use of regulatory impact analysis
  • agree to shared and increased funding and removal of some charges for the BCA.