This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
QUEENSLAND’S Crisafulli Government is looking to reduce red tape and unnecessary costs for builders, tradies and subbies and bring some momentum to the bogged-down construction sector.
The Building Reg Reno will scrap “unnecessary” financial reporting for more than 50,000 individual operators in the self-certifying licensee categories, provide more time to meet new fire protection licensing rules, scrap occupational licence fees for plumbers doing fire protection work, and fast-track the digitising of licensing and administrative processes which are still paper-based.
It will also pause the rollout of new project trust accounts on projects less than $10 million. Trust accounts will still be required for private projects above $10 million, and security of payment will be considered by the Queensland Productivity Commission as part of its review of the building and construction sector to identify opportunities to boost productivity, which the government said is “lagging behind” other states and territories.
Some 270,000 Queenslanders work in the $59 billion industry.
Legislation governing the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) to remove duplicate workplace safety notification requirements will also be enacted.
Minister for Housing and Public Works Sam O’Connor said the changes would deliver a place to call home for more Queenslanders by reducing the administrative and paperwork burden on builders.
“This is about doing all we can to take the pressure off our building and construction industry to get more Queenslanders into homes and easing Labor’s Housing Crisis.
“We want Queensland to be the building capital of the nation but at the moment our construction sites are the least productive in Australia.”
CEO of Master Builders Paul Bidwell welcomed the government’s Building Reg Reno.
“Slashing red tape is crucial to unlocking construction in Queensland. By hitting pause on the looming Project Trust Account expansion, scrapping additional financial reporting, and setting a new direction for the QBCC, the state government is better empowering our industry, particularly thousands of small businesses, to get on with the job.
“We applaud this ‘renovation’ of industry regulation and look forward to further measures being announced.”
HIA executive director for Queensland, Michael Roberts, said the announcement represented “small steps toward a business environment that will support building more homes in our state, but there are many more small steps that will need to be taken”
“Confirmation that Project Trust Account requirements will not be extended lower than the current $10 million contract threshold is a hugely welcome relief for small building and trades businesses. Many would not have coped with the extra burden on their business that was going to be mandated in a month’s time, and it certainly would not have helped to build more homes.
“Abolishing complicated financial reporting for around 50,000 smaller businesses working to build and improve Queensland homes will also make wading through the red tape easier.”
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Queensland had approved 3,392 total dwellings in December. While that represented a modest monthly improvement, it is still short of the state’s target under the National Housing Accord.
“For industry to deliver the 50,000-plus homes we need to build in Queensland each year, all cylinders have to be firing in home building. We need more detached homes, more multi-residential projects including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, terraces and small unit blocks, and we need more unit towers to go ahead as well,” Roberts said.
