Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Nov 29, 2012 7:05 am Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 2Nov 29, 2012 10:43 am This is very, very interesting. I literally jumped out of my seat when I saw that the Plumbing Industry Commission (PIC) was also to be abolished. This should be considered just the tip of the iceberg, the management, poor training, poorly written regulations, incompetent inspectors with vested interests hired by builders, lack of ethical conduct and lack of consumer protection should have been subjected to a parliamentary inquiry a long time ago. This might be even better but the job ahead is to set up a body that is efficient and not restrained by vested interests. Judge for yourselves the current shambles that currently besets the plumbing industry. Organisational structure Victorian Plumbing Industry Commission Executive Leadership Team The Executive Leadership Team is responsible for the Commission's Strategic direction and its organisational effectiveness. It consists of: • Michael Kefford Plumbing Industry Commissioner and Building Commissioner • Neil Savery Deputy Plumbing Industry Commissioner and Building Commissioner • Shayne La Combre Director, Plumbing Industry Commission • Paul Crapper Chief Financial Officer & Director Marketing and Business Services, Corporate Services, Building Commission and Plumbing Industry Commission • Muriel Marczynski Director, People and Culture & Information Management, Corporate Services, Building Commission and Plumbing Industry Commission • Dennis Hogan Director, Regulatory Development, Building Commission • Jeff Norton Director, Boards, Building Commission About the Plumbing Industry Advisory Council The Plumbing Industry Advisory Council (PIAC) is a senior industry advisory group established under Part 12A of the Building Act 1993, to provide advice to the Minister for Planning and the Plumbing Industry Commission. The Council includes up to 14 members and represents plumbing and building statutory authorities, industry employers and employees, vocational educators, water and gas regulators, the building industry and consumers. The PIAC is responsible for: • Providing advice to the Minister for Planning in relation to Part 12A of the Building Act 1993, or the plumbing industry • Providing advice to the Plumbing Industry Commission in relation to Part 12A of the Building Act 1993, or the plumbing industry. • Ongoing support and assistance with the National Plumbing Regulators Forum. In recent times, the PIAC has provided advice on a number of important issues including: • Research into water and energy savings through the plumbing and water protection systems of buildings • Input into the Plumbing Industry Commission's business and corporate planning • PlumbSmarter • Ongoing support for the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre - a facilty dedicated to educating and training to cut greenhouse gas emissions, save water and address the key issues around climate change in our buildings. • Responding to Victoria's Climate Change Green Paper which identified change in the construction sector as one of the major opportunities for mitigating and adapting to climate change, and creating jobs. • Ongoing support and advice on the new National Occupational Licensing System. The Focus of the Council in 2010-11 included monitoring the development of intiatives under the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) national agenda. major initiatives impacting on the Victorian plumbing industry included the National Occupational Licensing System and the National Construction Code (NCC) (Which resulted inthe Plumbing Code of Australia being incorporated into the NCC). The Council also monitored regulatory effectiveness with the implementation of amendments to the Plumbing Regulations 2008, and the continued development of plumbing skills and competencies. PIAC members Council members of the Plumbing Industry Advisory Council are appointed by the Minister for Planning and include (as at July 2011): Name Title Organisation Mr Doug McClusky - Chair Manager Plumbing Trades Employees Union Ms Carmel Coate - Deputy Chair Executive Director National Fire Industry Association Mr Michael Kefford Commissioner Plumbing Industry Commissioner and Building Commissioner Ms Anne Barker Managing Director City West Water Mr Paul Bonsak Executive Manager Energy Safe Victoria Mr David Eynon Executive Director Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors' Association of Victoria Mr Nick Chiam Director Apprenticeships, Traineeships & Youth, Skills Victoria Mr Ken Gardner CEO Master Plumbers' and Mechanical Services Association of Australia Mr Warren Jensen Program Manager Consumer Affairs Victoria Mr Glenn Menzies Plumbing Trades Employees Union (PTEU) Mr Paddy McCrudden Plumbing Trades Employees Union Mr Alan Pears Adjunct Professor RMIT Mr Earl Setches Victorian Branch Secretary Plumbing Trades Employees Union 1. COAG is in charge (politians only & govt depts) Council of Australian Government! 2. ABCB (Australian Building Codes Board) runs or is the writing body for COAG - and is in charge of the NCC! 3. NCC is the National Construction Code which comprises the BCA & PCA! 4. BCA is the Building Code Australia. 5. PCA is the Plumbing Code of Australia! 6. The ABCB only came into existance in 1994 but was only validated this year in April 2012???? 7. The ABCB comprises of two advisory committes - the BCC and the PCC! 8. The BCC is the Building Codes Committee 9. The PCC is the Plumbling Codes Committee The BCC consists of: ABCB Office (Chair) A representative of the Australian Government A representative of each of the State and Territory Governments A representative of Local Government Australasian Fire Authorities Council Australian Institute of Architects Australian Institute of Building Australian Institute of Building Surveyors Building Designers Association Building Products Innovation Council Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Consult Australia (Formerly ACEA) Engineers Australia Housing Industry Association Master Builders Australia Property Council of Australia Standards Australia New Zealand Department of Building and Housing (observer) Building Research New Zealand Inc (observer) The PCC consists of the following: A senior representative of the ABCB (Chair) A representative of the Australian Government A representative of each of the State and Territory Governments Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association Association of Hydraulic Services Consultants Australia Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Australian Institute of Refrigeration Air-conditioning and Heating Engineers Australia Housing Industry Association Master Builders Australia Master Plumbers Australia Plumbing Products Industry Group Property Council of Australia Standards Australia 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 3Nov 29, 2012 11:06 am Interesting that they cite part of the problesm as a $3m shortfall in a $24b industry. To put that's in perspective, that's like saying you had $24,000 to do something and overspent by $3. Building a Delta 21 at Craigieburn - http://homeofzero.blogspot.com.au/ Deposit: 26/02. Contract: 22/05. Settlement: 29/05. Site start: 18/10. Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 4Nov 29, 2012 12:02 pm I just read about this! 96% of permits they looked at did not comply? SaveH2O This should be considered just the tip of the iceberg, the management, poor training, poorly written regulations, incompetent inspectors with vested interests hired by builders, lack of ethical conduct and lack of consumer protection should have been subjected to a parliamentary inquiry a long time ago. Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 6Nov 29, 2012 3:38 pm b0son SaveH2O Paul Crapper thats not his real name, surely? Yep its a proud name in the History of Plumbing Thomas Crapper was a famous manufacturer of toilets in the late 1800s see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Crapper The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 8Dec 02, 2012 1:56 am The plumbing and building industry is incestuous. During a NSW inquiry on overflowing gutters and compliance that was presented to Parliament in 2011, the Department of Fair Trading instructed inspectors through Operation Flow to randomly inspect display homes in mid 2010 for roof drainage/stormwater compliance. Of the 35 display homes selected, only one was found to be compliant with the standards. See pages 17-18 in the report linked below. http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/ ... report.pdf Most of the new homes I see have non compliant roof drainage and one of the biggest problems is when slotted gutters are optioned but the compliant roof area drained is not calculated for the slotted gutter's smaller cross sectional (carrying capacity) area. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/hidden-report ... 1hx55.html http://www.smh.com.au/news/domain/news/ ... ntentSwap2 And after you have read the last article, guess which Government department is responsible for the administration of plumbing in NSW? 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 9Dec 02, 2012 7:14 am So is this something else you have to police for yourself as well now? Whether your gutters can handle the amount of rain that falls on your roof? Why aren't building surveyors checking this for you? As far as I can see building surveyors are a bit like God - they just observe the chaos without intervening and they never answer your calls for help. What is the point of having building surveyors visit the site and charge your for their visits when so many people on this forum are having to employ their own building inspectors to find their building defects? Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 10Dec 02, 2012 1:15 pm http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/publication ... rmits.html Above is a link to the Victorian Auditor-General's report of December 2011 which says amongst other things "Consequently, there is little assurance that surveyors are carrying out their work competently, that the Act is being complied with, and the risk of injury or damage to any person is being minimised." Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 11Dec 02, 2012 1:24 pm The situation of having surveyors contracted by the builders is farcical. A lot of people (naturally) assume that the inspectors are independent. One surveyor cannot be expected to know everything and a required standard of competency is not needed to become a surveyor. Most surveyors have little or no expertise in several areas. There should be surveyors qualified for different disclipines, for example, most surveyors do not know both plumbing and building regulations. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 12Dec 02, 2012 2:35 pm I have been complaining about incompetence and corruption of BC for seven years but no one was listening, so like virus it destroyed dreams and put people's lives at risk. Don't get too excited about the new body, it will be many of the same people re-employed with new titles and pay rises. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 13Dec 02, 2012 2:53 pm And an excuse for a cash strapped government to justify cost cutting. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 14Dec 13, 2012 9:00 pm If anyone is still hopeful of getting anything useful from Building Commission they are in la la land. It's a good way to waste your time. I have long known of BC corruption and have many times seen registered builders that knew nothing and occasionally could not speak english. There was no way they had the required competencies so the only answer was corrupt registration. Perhaps now you know why our building standards have fallen and some of our buildings look like they have been built in a third world country (they have been built by third world country builders) and why so many owners have been shattered by their dreadful building experience. This is the communication I got from AIBS yesterday: http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog/b ... orruption/ Presently the only way you can hope to protect your investment is to hire professional independent building consultant but even then choose carefully because there are many pretend experts. Do your homework! Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 16Dec 16, 2012 9:24 am Building Commission corruption has not only allowed unqualified builders to become registered but has also prevented many qualified applicant's from becoming registered. That is why there is acute shortage. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Stay tuned Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 18Dec 16, 2012 4:00 pm Building Appeals Board is corrupt as well (they are in the same building breathing the same air and under authority of the same Building Commissioner, they just protect each other instead of fixing the problem. I gave up trying (can't push s**t up hill) it was't the right time, but now is the time for reckoning. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 19Jan 01, 2013 4:49 pm So basically you don't meet the requirements and got knocked back, and now you're screaming that everyone is corrupt. Or, alternatively, your application didn't meet the requirements and there's no corruption going on. Building a Delta 21 at Craigieburn - http://homeofzero.blogspot.com.au/ Deposit: 26/02. Contract: 22/05. Settlement: 29/05. Site start: 18/10. Re: New building regulating body for Victoria 20Jan 02, 2013 1:08 pm Hi akashra You seem to be suffering from quick judgment. It's actually a condition and the underlying cause is ignorance. Fortunately for you it's curable with study and education, you should try it. No! I haven't accused everybody of corruption and yes BC is is currently under investigation for corruption. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog 0 19976 For reference, this is the Austlii reference. My take on this is, that they would be breaking the law denying access to a homeowner in Victoria, or their agent from having… 1 9099 Hey everyone Not for me or anyone I know, just generally interested. For a single allotment house, are you allowed to take the fence on both sides of your house and… 0 20892 |