ACT Construction Occupations

Licensing

The Constructions Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 defines the following nine occupations as licensed occupations:

• Builder;
• Building Assessor;
• Building Surveyor;
• Drainer;
• Electrician;
• Gasfitter;
• Plumber;
• Plumbing plan certifier; and
• Works Assessor.

These nine occupations are then divided into classes of licence, which identifies the type of work the licensee can undertake. For example, a Class B Builders Licence allows works on buildings that are three stories or lower, and a General Building Surveyor may preform building certification work in relation to a building that is three stories or lower and has a floor area of 2,000m² or less.

The following tables indicate the total number of new licences issued for the 2018-19 financial year.

Builder Licence Examinations

In 2018, the ACT Government announced the implementation of a new examination process for licensed builders. The exams commenced for Class C licensees in July 2018, and for Class A and B licensees in April 2019. The exams apply to all new applicants seeking an A, B or C Class builder’s licence. The examination is also used for existing licence holders, with a percentage of builders seeking to renew their licence required to sit the exam to assess whether their skills and technical knowledge are to standard.

Class A, B and C Builder exams cover the following topics:

• the obligations of ACT construction licensees;
• the obligations of builder licensees relevant to the level of licence;
• fundamental concepts in the building regulatory system; and
• interpretation of technical codes, standards, plans, drawings and other technical documentation, and applying relevant information to building processes.

For participants to pass the exam, they are required to successfully answer all mandatory questions and obtain a mark of 80% overall.

From April 2019 to June 2019, 47 applicants have sat the new exams for their builder licence. The following table describes the class of applicants and failure rates.

From 2 July 2018 to 27 March 2019, 138 applicants sat the exam for their Class C builder licence, as follows:

• 71 of those applicants failed their first attempt; a failure rate of 51%;
• 68 went on to sit their second attempt, with 34 failures; a failure rate of 50%;
• 16 went on to sit their third attempt, with 10 failures; a failure rate of 62%; and
• four went on to sit their fourth attempt, with three failures; a failure rate of 75%.

Licensing Demerit Information

Demerit points are issued for:

• contraventions of the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 or an operational Act;
• false or misleading information in relation to a construction service is given;
• the licensee or a director, partner or nominee of the licensee, is found guilty of an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or violence that is punishable by imprisonment for at least one year;
• the individual licensee has compounded with creditors or made an assignment of remuneration for their benefit;
• the licensee is a corporation and enters into a scheme of arrangement, or a receiver, manager, receiver and manager or administrator is appointed over the licensee or any of its assets;
• a licensee that is a corporation or partnership operates without a nominee;
• the licence has been automatically suspended and the cause of the suspension still exists.

The tables below provide a summary of demerit points incurred by all licensees under COLA.

The chart below shows the number of demerit points incurred by each class of builder over the past five financial years. It shows that Class B builders incurred almost double the demerit points in  2017-2018 as in 2016-2017. Demerit points incurred by Class A builders has, averaged over the five years, remained steady.

Figure 1: Demerit points recorded per licence class 2014-15 to 2018-19

If a ground for occupational discipline exists and there is a corresponding demerit point ground under COLA, the Construction Occupations Registrar records in a demerit points register the number of demerit points the licensee has incurred for the relevant construction occupation. A demerit point is incurred on the day when the Registrar first becomes aware of the disciplinary incident. There is no public register of demerit points. Excluding demerit points for occupational discipline, there were no other occupational discipline actions taken and there were no licensees whose licences were suspended or disqualified on these grounds in 2018-19.

Responsive Compliance

Access Canberra and the Construction Occupations Registrar operate under a risk‑based and harm minimisation model. This model prioritises the allocation of resources to situations where the risks of harm, unsafe practices and potential misconduct are the greatest to the community.

Access Canberra encourages compliance through education, whilst ensuring that enforcement actions will be applied to those whose conduct systemically breaches legislation and is likely to cause harm.

It is through this compliance model that Access Canberra has implemented a three-step strategic vision that is central to regulating the building and construction industry in the ACT.

• Protection - Protecting the community from harm by minimising risk.
• Prevention - Preventing harm, damage or economic loss by education and promoting compliance with construction legislation.
• Rectification - Rectification for individuals or business who have not complied with obligations.

By educating the wider community through a variety of communication channels including Access Canberra publications, the Construction Occupations Registrar is seeking to maximise voluntary compliance in the construction industry.

During 2018-19, Access Canberra assessed 112 new cases regarding building and construction, and during this period 263 cases were closed. Several of the cases that were closed had been ongoing for a number of years and were closed on reaching an appropriate regulatory outcome. This highlights that the proactive approach from compliance teams is achieving tangible results with 75 fewer cases regarding building and construction than the previous financial year.

Complaints received often relate to more than one allegation of non-compliance. Complaints are categorised by the first issue raised by the complainant, which may not be the only issue. The ACT Government may receive multiple complaints relating to the same matter. For example, some complaints include both building and planning elements, and these are treated as a single case.

At the end of the reporting period there were 101 active complaints across 56 cases relating to building and construction. The number of complaints received has decreased by 40% in comparison to the 2017-18 financial year. The number of open cases has been reduced by 31% at the end of this financial year compared to 2017-18.

Cases often involve extensive investigation and may take an extended period of time to resolve. Some complaints are not substantiated and are closed. Others are outside Access Canberra’s legislative powers to intervene and are referred to the relevant agency with the case with Access Canberra closed.

The most common complaints in 2018-19 include:

• water ingress from structural issues;
• Building Code of Australia compliance; and
• excavations, site preparation and works not being completed in accordance with approved plans.

In 2018-19, the Construction Occupations Registrar received 226 complaints relating to construction occupations licensees, resulting in 112 separate cases. Complaints made were primarily about performance and quality of works performed by the construction occupation licensees. In particular, matters raised included quality of building works in accordance with the national construction code, works not in accordance with approved plans, and work without notice of building works being displayed.

Of these cases, 17 complaints related to former licensees, and resulted in 12 separate cases. These cases remain under investigation and relate to defective works performed by former licensees. There were 209 complaints made related to matters involving current licensees, resulting in 100 cases.

In addition, eight cases were investigated in relation to works performed by unlicensed construction occupation individuals. These related to plumbing and electrical work.

Complaints made against construction occupations licensees primarily relate to builders, and highlight issues surrounding construction quality and standards.

The types of complaints received regarding specific occupations include:

• Builders:
  • non-compliance with the National Construction Code;
  • non-compliance with Australian Standards;
  • non-compliance with approved plans;
  • no approved plans;
  • no development approval; and
  • building quality.
• Building Surveyors:
  • breach of planning laws;
  • unlawful building approval;
  • breach of building code; and
  • refusal to lodge papers for certificate of occupancy and use.
• Electricians:
  • poorly installed electrical installations;
  • faulty wiring; and
  • electrical complaints in general.
• Plumbers:
  • non-compliant works relating to sewerage, drainage, water plumbing, rain water installations and grey water installations.

A breach of building and planning laws may not necessarily require regulatory action. All breaches are assessed in line with the Access Canberra Accountability Commitment, which ensures that resources are directed to where the risks of harm, unsafe practices or misconduct are the greatest.

Enforcement Activity

Access Canberra has increased its enforcement response during 2018-19.

The following table details construction occupation enforcement activity from 1 July 2018 to  30 June 2019.

Further information can be obtained from

Mr Ben Green
Construction Occupations Registrar
Executive Branch Manager
+61 2 6207 7387
ben.green@act.gov.au