In the media

MBA: 2019 a challenging year for residential building says latest forecast
New home building across Australia is facing into its toughest year in almost a decade with declining house prices and the fallout from the Royal Commission really starting to bite (24 January 2019).  More...

RICS: Update to members on Opal Tower
Following reports of major cracks appearing in Sydney's newly built Opal Tower, there has been a steady stream of public commentary around potential root causes and mitigations. Reporting has spread throughout the world and the Australian building and construction industry is now the subject of discussion with respect to standards, regulation and compliance (21 January 2019).  More...

MBA: First Home Buyers loans up but investors decline
Housing finance figures for November contained good news for the First Home Buyer (FHB) segment of the market, with their share of owner occupier home loans rising to 18.3 per cent which was the highest monthly result since October 2012 (21 January 2019).  More...

MBA: Building activity still at relatively high levels
Despite the challenges faced over the course of 2018, ABS figures for the September 2018 quarter indicate that building activity was still at a relatively high level. Interestingly, the latest figures show that the immediate pipeline of work in residential building was very large (16 January 2019).  More...

'Safety lower than required': What the Opal Tower report actually says
The Opal Tower interim report, written by some of the state's most senior independent engineers after a more than two weeks of investigation, went some way in giving residents answers as to what went wrong (16 January 2019).  More... 

New South Wales

AIBS: NSW Government exploits plight of Opal Tower residents for political purposes
Minister Kean's attacks on building surveyors, or certifiers as they are known in NSW, will do nothing whatsoever to help affected residents who have been forced from their homes, nor facilitate a faster result of the investigation now underway into the cause of cracks in a pre-cast concrete panel in the building (21 January 2019).  More...  

Opal Tower: Design and construction issues uncovered
The NSW Government has released the preliminary findings of an interim report produced by independent engineers investigating structural issues in Opal Tower. While the engineers have declared the building "structurally sound and not in danger of collapse", they identified a number of issues that will require "significant rectification works" (15 January 2019).  More...

In practice and courts

AIBS: What to expect in NCC 2019
The ABCB recently published the January edition of Connect which provides details of what to expect in NCC 2019. An article written by AIBS National Technical Manager Jeremy Turner explaining the crucial role of the building surveyor and how this profession is keeping up-to-date with this ever changing industry is also included (14 January 2019).  More... 

New South Wales

Combustible Cladding Registration due 22 February 2019
Under the new Regulations, owners of certain buildings with external combustible cladding are required to register their building with the NSW Government through the Cladding Registration portal. The  deadline for registration is 22 February 2019. Owners of new buildings will be required to register their building within four months of the building first being occupied.  More...

New dates forEnvironmental Planning & Assessment Act updates
Councils, certifiers and other industry practitioners have more time to implement some of the recent EP&A Act updates. Changes affect new provisions for building and subdivision certification, Local Strategic Planning Statements for councils in the Greater Sydney Region and Community Participation Plans. While most of the changes will commence on 1 March 2018, there will be a number of other changes that will involve further design and consultation.

Cases

Harrison v Riley [2019] NSWCATAP 31
(1) Leave to appeal is refused.
(2) The Appeal is dismissed.
APPEAL – Parties to contract – whether error in conclusion that work not undertaken with due care and skill – evidence.
Defective building work.
Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013; Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2014; Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). 

Dassouki v Department of Fair Trading [2019] NSWCATOD 14
(1) The decision under review is varied by shortening the period of disqualification from 12 months to 6 months.
(2) This decision will take effect after the expiration of 28 days from the date of the decision.
LICENSING – Disciplinary action against holder of contractor licence – improper conduct – fit and proper person – officer of company found to have contravened legislation – appropriate disciplinary action.
Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997 (NSW); Crimes Act 1900 (NSW); Home Building Act 1989 (NSW).

Legislation

New South Wales

Proclamations commencing Acts
Protection of the Environment Operations Amendment (Asbestos Waste) Act 2018 No 80 (2019-18) — published LW 25 January 2019

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