Report: Non-Conforming Building Products
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The Senate Economics References Committee Non-conforming building products: the need for a coherent and robust regulatory regime December 2018 © Commonwealth of Australia 2018 ISBN 978-1-76010-877-9 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License. The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/ Printed by the Senate Printing Unit, Parliament House, Canberra. ii Senate Economics References Committee Members in the 45th Parliament Senator Chris Ketter (Chair) Queensland, ALP Senator Jane Hume (Deputy Chair) Victoria, LP Senator Cory Bernardi (5 December 2016 to 15 February 2017) South Australia, AC Senator Sam Dastyari (to 25 January 2018) New South Wales, ALP Senator the Hon. Kristina Keneally (from 15 February 2018) New South Wales, ALP Senator the Hon. Ian Macdonald (15 February 2017 to 22 March 2018) Queensland, LP Senator Jenny McAllister New South Wales, ALP Senator Amanda Stoker (from 22 March 2018) Queensland, LP Senator Peter Whish-Wilson (from 14 November 2017) Tasmania, AG Senator Nick Xenophon (to 31 October 2017) South Australia, NXT Senators participating in this inquiry Senator the Hon Kim Carr Victoria, ALP Senator John Madigan (44th Parliament) Victoria, IND Senator Rex Patrick (45th Parliament) South Australia, CA Senator Glenn Sterle Western Australia, ALP Members in the 44th Parliament Senator Chris Ketter (Chair) Queensland, ALP Senator Sean Edwards (Deputy Chair) South Australia, LP Senator Matthew Canavan (to 23 February 2016) Queensland, NATS Senator Sam Dastyari New South Wales, ALP Senator Jenny McAllister Victoria, ALP Senator Dean Smith (from 23 February 2016) Western Australia, LP Senator Nick Xenophon South Australia, IND Secretariat Mr Mark Fitt, Secretary Mr Alan Raine, Acting Secretary (8 October to 23 November 2018) Ms Penny Bear, Senior Research Officer Ms Hannah Dunn, Administrative Officer PO Box 6100 Ph: 02 6277 3540 Parliament House Fax: 02 6277 5719 Canberra ACT 2600 E-mail: [email protected] iii Table of Contents Membership of the Committee ........................................................................ iii Abbreviations and acronyms ...........................................................................vii Executive summary ............................................................................................ ix Chapter 1.............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction and overview ....................................................................................... 1 Conduct of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 2 Previous committee reports .................................................................................... 4 Shergold and Weir Report .................................................................................... 11 Structure of the report ........................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2............................................................................................................ 15 Examples of non-conforming building products ................................................. 15 Electrical ............................................................................................................... 15 Lighting ................................................................................................................ 17 Windows and glazing ........................................................................................... 18 Plumbing ............................................................................................................... 20 Engineered wood products ................................................................................... 21 Steel ...................................................................................................................... 21 Vinyl/PVC ............................................................................................................ 23 Committee view .................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 3............................................................................................................ 25 Government action on non-conforming building products ................................ 25 Role of the Commonwealth, states and territories ............................................... 25 Building Ministers' Forum .................................................................................... 26 Senior Officers' Group on non-conforming building products ............................ 27 Views on progress ................................................................................................ 34 Committee view .................................................................................................... 41 v Chapter 4............................................................................................................ 45 Increasing compliance in the building industry .................................................. 45 Licensing and inspections ..................................................................................... 45 National Construction Code ................................................................................. 51 Availability of Australian Standards .................................................................... 53 Chapter 5............................................................................................................ 55 Other measures to address non-conforming building products ....................... 55 National databases ................................................................................................ 55 Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016 ...................... 58 Mandatory recall insurance for high-risk building products ................................ 60 Building products containing asbestos ................................................................. 61 Coalition Senators' Additional Comments ..................................................... 67 Appendix 1—Submissions and additional information ................................ 69 Appendix 2—Public hearings and witnesses .................................................. 81 Appendix 3—List of recommendations from the Interim report: aluminium composite cladding ............................................................................................. 89 Appendix 4—List of recommendations from the Interim report: protecting Australians from the threat of asbestos ............................................................. 91 Appendix 5—List of recommendations from Building Confidence— Improving the effectiveness of compliance and enforcement systems for the building and construction industry across Australia ....................................... 97 vi Abbreviations and acronyms ASEA Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency ABCB Australian Building Codes Board ABF Australian Border Force ACCC Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ACL Australian Consumer Law AGGA Australian Glass and Glazing Association APCC Australasian Procurement and Construction Council AWA Australian Window Associations BMF Building Ministers' Forum BPIC Building Products Innovation Council BRF Building Regulators' Forum COAG Council of Australian Governments EWPAA Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia HIA Housing Industry Association MBA Master Builders Australia MEA Master Electricians Australia NATA National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia NCBP Non-Conforming Building Products NCC National Construction Code NECA National Electrical and Communications Association PPI Group Plumbing Products Industry Group Inc QBCC Queensland Building and Construction Commission Shergold and Weir Report Confidence—Improving the effectiveness of compliance and enforcement systems for the building and construction industry across Australia SOG Senior Officers' Group SOG Implementation Plan Implementation Plan: Strategies to Address Risks Related to Non-Conforming Building Products SOG Report Strategies to address risks related to non-conforming building products Queensland legislation Queensland Building and Construction Legislation (Non-conforming Building Products—Chain of Responsibility and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2017 vii Executive summary Confidence in the materials we use to build our domestic, commercial and public buildings is of paramount importance to all. Australians have a right to feel secure and safe in their built environment. As such, safety has always been a key motivator in the design and implementation of modern building regulations and construction codes. Often it is impossible for consumers and end users of building products to know whether a product is fit-for-purpose; trust is placed in those with the appropriate technical knowledge to ensure Australians are protected when they purchase or use building products, or that the appropriate product has been used in the place where they may work or live. Recent failures, such as the importation of asbestos-containing building products and the 2014 Lacrosse apartment building fire in Melbourne's Docklands, have highlighted the need for continued vigilance of building materials used in Australia. This