I'm Concerned about My Build Quality

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Article of Interest – Build Quality - The Melbourne University

Pursuit - Research Articles and News | University of Melbourne Dr Paulo Vaz-Serra,

Here are some important excerpts from Dr, Paulo’s stated research material,

You can read the full informative article at https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/topics/building-codes

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Australia plans to build an extra 1.2 million quality homes in five years, but we don’t have the people or regulatory processes to achieve this

To build more homes we need confidence in building quality.

The federal government recently announced an ambitious plan to boost the Australian economy with an extra 1.2 million new houses in five years, including a $AU3 billion National Housing Infrastructure Facility. How the government intends to execute this plan within the current regulatory climate remains unclear.

The plan will require building an additional 240,000 new houses per year, which is double the current capacity to build houses – even more than double if looking at the reduced projection of only 173,000 for 2025.

With the current shortage of qualified professionals and construction companies, achieving this goal will be challenging for all stakeholders, especially the final buyers.

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Reducing construction timelines increases the risks

Here in my home state of Victoria, I have doubts about the capacity of building surveyors to manage the increased work.

Building surveyors ensure compliance with regulations and are currently crucial to the construction process. Registration as a building surveyor requires a minimum of four years of training and some years of experience.

The City of Melbourne says there are insufficient building surveyors to meet even the existing workload.

This shortage has left tens of thousands of ‘orphaned building permits’ – permits without building surveyors attached – leaving people unable to live in their finished homes. So how does the government plan to cover the requirements for 1.2 million new builds?

This increase in buildings will also add to existing issues with inspections mandated by the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) – an authority facing criticism for its “appalling culture” and ability to effectively oversee the sector.

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Will the new builds meet quality standards?

The current regulatory system employs the National Construction Code (NCC) to determine quality based on how a building performs, rather than solely on materials and processes.

If it functions, it is considered compliant.

For instance, if someone turns on a tap, water must flow, regardless of whether the shower was constructed according to the design and expectations of the owner. In addition, owners have to accept cracks in walls if less than one millimetre as authorities consider that some movement of footings is ‘normal’.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that a contractor did not need to comply with a VBA ‘direction to fix’ because the VBA inspectors failed to detect the faults before the certificate of final inspection was issued. The owners were left to deal with the problem themselves.

This clearly ineffective level of inspections prompted the City of Melbourne to propose that inspections should be managed by an independent authority.

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We continue to lose design and construction knowledge

The terms ‘builders’ and ‘contractors’ are now used interchangeably when historically they hold significant differences and carry different implications.

Builders referred to companies with internal competencies to perform all construction aspects, possessed in-house trades capabilities and employed foremen as site managers with expertise in various trades including carpentry, plumbing and electrical.

Contractors referred to contract administrators or what are now known as ’main contractors’, people responsible for managing subcontractors. They employ ‘project managers’ who often manage subcontractors across different trades, but they may have no expertise in any of these individual trades.

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Thanks to The University of Melbourne Dr Paulo Vaz-Serra, for the use of this informative article

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Code of Practice (Inspection of Buildings) AS 4349.1 – 2007

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Consult Tec Inspections and Reports are prepared in accordance with Australian Standards – AS4349.1 – 2007 and further Associated Requirements

Standards Australia

Standards Australia develops Australian Standards and other documents of public benefit and national interest. These Standards are developed through an open process of consultation and consensus, in which all interested parties are invited to participate. Through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commonwealth Government, Standards Australian is recognized as Australia’s peak non-government national standards body. Standards Australia also supports excellence in design and innovation through Australian Design Awards.

For further information visit www.standards.org.au

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Australian Standards

Committees of experts from Industry, governments, consumers and other relevant sectors prepare Australian Standards. The requirements or recommendations contained in published Standards are a consensus of the views of representative interests and also take account of comments received from other sources. They reflect the latest scientific and industry experience. Australian Standards are kept under continuous review after publication and are regularly updated to take account of changing technology.

International Involvement

Standards Australia is responsible for ensuring the Australian viewpoint is considered in the formulation of International Standards and that the latest international experience is incorporated in the national Standards. This role is vital in assisting local industry to compete in international markets. Standards Australia represents Australia at both the International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electro technical Commission (IEC)

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