On 10 February, the Queensland government announced a range of changes intended to streamline building regulation and cut red tape.
Changes that will be rolled out progressively, include:
- Pausing the rollout of future phases of the Project Trust Account framework
- Self-Certifying 1 and 2 individual licensees will no longer need to submit financial reports to QBCC
- Specialist fire workers will get five more years to transition to new licensing requirements
- Plumbers who hold a QBCC contractor license won’t need to pay for an extra plumbing occupational licence to do extra fire protection work.
In addition, the Government has flagged a range of broader reforms to be undertaken in future including:
- Introducing a Queensland Housing Code
- Reviewing licensing thresholds and improving consistency for QBCC licenses
- Fast tracking a move towards digital platforms to reduce paper work
- A clear and consistent approach to NCC implementation timeframes and updates
- Simplifying safety notifications to remove duplication between QBCC and Workplace Health and Safety QLD reporting
- Reviewing thresholds, cover amounts and timeframes for Queensland Home Warranty Scheme
- Further reducing the administrative burden associated with trust accounts.
The Property Council welcomes all measures that make it easier to do business and deliver new product to market.
We look forward to continuing to work with government on changes that will streamline building regulation and cut red tape.