Private certification for WA builders

In a long-awaited move for the Western Australian construction sector, developers and homebuilders will be able to use private assessors to certify compliance with building standards under a package of new legislation introduced today.

Commerce Minister Simon O'Brien said the new legislation, the Building Services (Registration) Act and the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act, would also streamline building approvals and strengthen protection for consumers building new homes.

The acts are expected to be implemented from August, and the Building Act will be implemented in October.

"Building owners will be able to use registered practitioners in private practice as well as in local government to certify compliance with building standards and undertake mandatory inspections," Mr O'Brien said.

Currently, builders can certify development plans only through local government planning departments.

"The new laws will see the Department of Commerce's Building Commission become the principal regulator of building standards and building service providers in Western Australia," Mr O'Brien said.

"Its primary focus will be to promote fair and efficient building and plumbing practice in WA."

Property Council of Australia executive director Joe Lenzo said the decision to allow private certification was a huge improvement for Western Australia.

"Finally WA has linked up with other states and we are modernizing building industry regulations," Mr Lenzo said.

"In the past property developers with building applications had to wait in costly local government queues for weeks and months to get straight forward building certifications, for big and small projects. This added to the cost of doing business in WA.

"The new laws allow developers to engage qualified and registered experts to privately certify their building applications according to Australian building standards, and in a more timely manner.

"The new laws will enable the property development sector to meet WA's growth challenges, including new and diverse housing for a growing population and commercial facilities to support our surging economy.

"The property development sector looks forward to working with the newly formed Building Commission to implement the private certification regulations and other initiatives in the new Building Act."

Under the new laws, the Builders Registration Board, Painters Registration Board and the Building Disputes Tribunal will all be dissolved, with their functions replaced by the Building Commission.

Also, a building commissioner backed by a building services board will register building service providers.

"The building commissioner will deal directly with consumer complaints by focusing on resolving them rapidly, before becoming entrenched though the courts," Mr O'Brien said.

Mr O'Brien said the reforms were the most significant to building regulation for more than 50 years.