A week-long building regulator inspection program has found construction in Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast is riding a wave of compliance.
The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) in conjunction with Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) WorkSafe, Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) and Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) rolled out Build Aware in February, inspecting more than 100 construction sites across the region.
Build Aware aims to demonstrate how co-regulators can work together to improve efficiency and reinforce the importance of compliance in the building, plumbing and construction industry.
Regulators hoped the initiative would improve practitioner understanding of building laws and public awareness of the industry regulators.
While the majority of the inspections found there was no risk or very low risk of non-compliance with the Building Act, two excavation sites in Lorne were found to be non-compliant with regulations and were closed. The building practitioner responsible has been spoken to by the VBA and is working to rectify the identified issues. The Municipal Building Surveyor for the Surf Coast Shire was also notified by the VBA.
“Overall, the results were pleasing, with the majority of work sites inspected presenting no risk or very low risk of a breach” said Murray Smith, Director of Enquiries, Inspections and Compliance.
“It shows the building industry in Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast is buoyant”
EPA South West Regional Manager, Carolyn Francis, said EPA officers looked specifically at how sites were managing construction and demolition waste.
“While demolition waste was being stored on one property without a council permit, there was generally a good understanding of waste management requirements,” said Ms Francis.
“That said, some industry members were surprised to hear that the ultimate responsibility for making sure waste is managed and disposed of correctly can’t be sub-contracted out. Waste generators, waste transporters and waste receivers are all legally responsible.”
Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria, Simon Cohen said: "Our second Build Aware event was very successful from our perspective. Working with our co-regulators provided a great opportunity to inform consumers and builders about the services we all provide in the domestic building space."