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Building Confidence – Shergold and Weir 2018 report
By Alex Wood
By Danielle Warfe
20 June 2018
In 2017, Peter Shergold and Bronwyn Weir were commissioned by the Building Ministers Forum to report on the effectiveness of compliance systems for Australia’s building industry. Their recent report, Building Confidence, comprises 24 recommendations to improve public trust that the National Construction Code (NCC) is being properly applied to protect the interests of building owners and occupants. It is effectively a blueprint for best practice in Australia’s construction industry.
We have brutally summarised Shergold and Weir’s recommendations as centering on:
The registration and training of practitioners |
To ensure that practitioners’ responsibilities are consistent across the country, and that practitioners (particularly building surveyors) are appropriately and adequately trained in applying the NCC and are accountable for their decisions. | |
The roles and responsibilities of regulators |
To improve regulatory oversight and education by enhancing collaboration and data-sharing among regulators, ensuring they have the authority to enforce compliance, and implementing proactive audits of commercial buildings. | |
The integrity of building surveyors |
To improve widely-held perceptions of conflicts of interest and poor practice by improving transparency in building surveyor engagement and responsibilities, implementing a statutory code of conduct for building surveyors, and implementing mandatory reporting of non-compliances. | |
The adequacy of documentation and record-keeping |
To ensure that design and construction documentation is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate compliance with the NCC, particularly in relation to performance solutions, and that independent third-party review for specific types of buildings or building components be implemented. | |
The importance of inspection regimes |
To ensure a consistent and risk-based approach to conducting inspections of building work across jurisdictions, and that inspections are conducted by appropriately qualified practitioners. | |
The importance of post-construction documentation |
To ensure a comprehensive record is available for the ongoing management and maintenance of commercial buildings. |
We endorse these recommendations and note that numerous elements are already implemented in Tasmania, but also acknowledge there is room for improvement. Of particular concern to us is the poor perception of building surveyors nationally, a perception we are countering with transparency, communication and maintaining our technical competence.
The building and construction industry needs to actively participate in lifting standards, competency and integrity if it is to produce safe and reliable buildings and continue to be an important driver of infrastructure development and economic growth. (Shergold and Weir 2018).