Speech on the Building Bills 2010

Extract from Hansard
[COUNCIL — Tuesday, 17 May 2011]

BUILDING SERVICES LEVY BILL 2010
BUILDING SERVICES (COMPLAINT RESOLUTION AND ADMINISTRATION) BILL 2010
BUILDING SERVICES (REGISTRATION) BILL 2010

Second Reading — Cognate Debate

Resumed from 6 April.

HON LYNN MacLAREN (South Metropolitan) [9.40 pm]: I rise to speak in broad support of the Building
Services Levy Bill 2010, the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Bill 2010 and the
Building Services (Registration) Bill 2010. The existing process for building approvals was established in the
Local Government Act 1960. There is, therefore, a clear need to update the existing legislation. The Greens
broadly support these three bills, which I will address at this stage, and I will leave my comments on the
Building Bill 2010, which are more substantial, to that later order of the day.

As I understand it, these bills have been on the cards for about 10 years. I congratulate the government for finally
bringing these bills to this house—good job. I will briefly summarise the consultation that has been undergone
on these three bills. In 2003–04, informal discussions were held about updating and modernising the Builders’
Registration Act 1939. In 2005, a building act discussion paper was circulated broadly. In 2006, responses came
back, and an industry reference group was set up. That was a very good process, under which the government
sought consultation on this legislation. In 2007, this legislation was drafted under a Labor Party government, so
we on this side of the house should have an in-depth knowledge of these bills. That drafting continued in 2009,
and at last we are dealing in the upper house with the second reading of these bills.

From my discussions with stakeholders, which included the Western Australian Local Government Association,
and local council building inspectors, these bills appear to be relatively uncontentious. There seems to be broad
agreement that there is a need to modernise the current legislation. I did note the comment by my colleague Hon
Ljiljanna Ravlich about the complaints that have been brought to her attention, and I look forward to hearing the
responses from the minister to those concerns. However, I cannot say that those concerns have been raised with
us.

The Building Services Levy Bill provides for a levy to be imposed on persons to whom permits and building
approval certificates are granted under the Building Bill, which we have yet to discuss. The levy will be used to
fund the operations of the Building Commission division of the Department of Commerce, in its role as regulator
of the building industry in Western Australia. The levy will replace the levy under section 4B of the Builders’
Registration Act 1939—it has been a while since that act was established, has it not? This bill has been produced
as a standalone bill, as Parliament requires that taxing provisions be included in separate bills. That is a good
practice, and it provides a good opportunity to scrutinise this bill independently. We therefore support it.

The Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Bill 2010 provides a new system for dealing
with complaints about building services in Western Australia. It will replace the current Building Disputes
Tribunal. The local council building inspectors with whom we have consulted believe that the complaints
mechanism outlined in the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Bill appears to be an
improvement on the existing complaints mechanism, which it has been argued is not operating very effectively,
although, as we have heard, that may be up for debate. The system that is proposed in this bill is a new
modernised system, and it should be tested to see whether it is better than the existing system. It is fair to say
also that the Greens have concerns about the cost benefits of this bill. We also have concerns about rising costs,
particularly for home buyers who are trying to get into a market that they have not been in before. Housing
affordability in this state is at a crisis point, and we need to be mindful of anything that may increase the costs
for people who want to buy a home.

The Building Services (Registration) Bill establishes an office of the Building Commissioner to inspect and
investigate buildings and building services in Western Australia. It also provides for orders to remedy
unsatisfactory building services in Western Australia. These purposes are worthy and appropriate, and,
hopefully, they will also be efficient. According to the stakeholders whom we consulted about the registration
bill, this bill is a step in the right direction, because it will require building surveyors to hold qualifications. That
is not currently the case, which surprised me. Building surveyors will also need to prove that they are up to date
with the Building Code. Some of the disputes and complaints that have come up may be avoided through the
professionalising and registration of building surveyors. We welcome that move. But as I have said, we would be
concerned if this legislation were to increase costs for homeowners. I will conclude my remarks at that point.