Joint teams from five government agencies have conducted 167 inspections on building sites around Shepparton as part of the Build Aware campaign and found most are complying with their legal obligations to protect the environment and ensure workplace safety and community benefit.
Teams from the five agencies found no significant non-compliances but took the opportunity to provide site operators with advice on actions required to achieve compliance, during a week of inspections under the Build Aware campaign.
The week-long program has been run three times a year since 2016 in metropolitan and regional locations and aims to ensure compliance on residential, industrial and commercial building sites.
The five key Victorian government agencies that regulate the building sector – the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), WorkSafe Victoria (WSV), Energy Safe Victoria (ESV), Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) and Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) – joined forces to carry out targeted inspections around Shepparton.
WSV also engaged with the next generation of local tradies through its TAFE education program, providing 37 carpentry and plumbing apprentices with a training session focusing on their legal obligations as tradespeople.
In their inspections, agencies focused on common building issues that cause safety and environmental issues, or financial and emotional stress to consumers and the community.
EPA officers looked for environmental problems including contaminated stormwater, sediment runoff and uncontrolled litter, as well as problems with the disposal of construction and demolition waste, including asbestos.
Inspectors from the VBA carried out 40 proactive inspections on sites under construction, checking the compliance of building and plumbing work. They also looked for safety hazards on sites that could impact the quality of compliance.
The VBA followed up the visits with letters to practitioners in a bid to educate and lift the overall quality of building and plumbing work in the area.
ESV Officers attended work sites operating powered mobile plant near overhead and underground electrical assets, and provided educational material to assist them in meeting their legal obligations when working in the vicinity of electrical assets.
Inspectors from CAV reviewed domestic building contracts to ensure builders are adhering to important consumer protections that are protected under law and cannot be signed away.
During the past 12 months, multi-agency teams have conducted more than 400 inspections, with most building sites found to be compliant. The next Build Aware campaign will be in the Bairnsdale area of Gippsland in February 2019.
For more on agencies involved in Build Aware, see the agencies’ websites: