Victorian Building Authority – Building Reforms

Victorian Building Authority - Building Reforms

The Victorian Building Authority building reforms, recently announced for, to cut red tape and attempt to reduce escalating costs and boost efficient in the Victorian Building segment are short on effectiveness and real assistance certainly to builders. The 36 reforms covering a wide variety of area’s whilst playing with the edges of cost and red tape reductions show again why government departments cannot plot true reform due to their vested interests.

See link at VBA on reforms At a recent seminar conducted by VBA it revealed builders, designers and surveyors simply felt the reforms do not address the fact’s. The growth in regulation remain unrestrained and the bullying of practitioner unrelenting.

The inability to restrain illegal building or the departments to assist practitioners to “do their best” rather than punish any infraction no matter how minor is sole destroying for those wanting to make a honest and difficult living as a building practitioner. The standard department answers being let us know and we will look into it remain unchanged.

Area’s that will assist the Verandah segment are

  1. Average height on or near boundaries. The maximum average height will be increased to 3.2m from previous 3.0m. Maximum height of 3.6m remains unchanged. Trigger for town planning, where an overlay exists,  of a maximum of 3.0m remains unchanged.
  2. Registered Builders will be given licence to construct roofs previously which only plumbers could undertake.
  3. Walls on boundaries to allow a 00mm to 200mm rather than 00mm 150mm to allow for gutters fascia and the like protruding from walls.

All above items are positive moves. Items (1) and (3) particularly assisting with troublesome siting issues that quite often arise with Verandah and Carport projects.

It is all bad?

The positive is the government is trying to reform an industry that remains difficult to restrain and by nature is complex as almost no two projects are the same. Each building does have a direct influence to those directly and sometimes those indirectly involved and disputes and safety must remain in the forefront of Government, Consumers and Practitioner alike.

Other interesting Victorian Building Authority – Building Reforms include

Swimming pools, spa and their safety barriers.

VBA now undertaking sole responsibility for resolution of complaints in relation to domestic building projects.

The Victorian Government has flagged its intent to implement Victorian Building Authority building reforms by July 2014.

Certainly it will also be interesting to note how councils also implement their planning reforms also flagged to be completed by same date. We hope these can have better respect for the small lot sizes, heights and Part iv of the building code in there revisions.