More enforcement and education needed for building supply chain

The health and safety of the community is a fundamental priority of Master Builders Australia.

Understandable concerns about building safety have been raised by the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London.

Australians can have confidence in the regulatory regime that oversees building and construction including the use of building products.

The National Construction Code (NCC) is a robust system with safety to the community at its core.  It is given legal effect by legislation in each state and territory making enforcement of the code a state and territory responsibility.  Moreover, it is the responsibility of all along the supply chain to ensure that the Code is being adhered to.

Concerns have been raised in Australia over recent years about both non-conforming and non-compliant building products in the building supply chain.  Industry and regulators have been working on both these issues.

Non-conforming building products claim to be something they are not, do not meet the required standards for their intended use, are marketed or supplied with the intent to deceive those who use them.  They are illegal products.

Non-compliant building products are those that are used in situations where they do not comply with the NCC.

To tackle the issue of non-conforming and non-compliant building products Master Builders believes that our robust building regulation and its enforcement needs to cover all of the supply chain.

We believe more can be done to strengthen enforcement efforts by regulators and that the responsibility for compliance is shared equitably, that is, enforcement need to be targeted from the start of the product supply chain until the end with installation.

All stakeholders – industry and government – must work individually and collectively to better inform all of those along the supply chain.

Master Builders Australia is committed to ongoing education of its members and working with other industry partners and government to improve knowledge in the industry.  As a matter of priority, this should include an information portal that consolidates existing information about certified products and their appropriate use.  A one-stop-shop in the form of a national website will be an important first step in bringing the current system together as a coherent whole.