Building and Other Legislation Amendment Bill

_{15 April, 2008}

Ms JARRATT (Whitsunday—ALP) (5.33 pm): I rise to participate in the debate on the Building
and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. Tonight I wish to speak in some detail about the Deputy
Premier’s amendment to the Building Act 1975 which allows for specific standards to be set for
temporary buildings. This amendment will ensure that the government can provide safety and amenity
standards for temporary buildings generally or for particular types of temporary buildings as the need
arises.

This amendment is particularly relevant to my electorate and more broadly to the Mackay-
Whitsunday region. What we have seen in mining areas in particular are workers camps pop up
seemingly overnight. They are mushrooming in these areas. It is not just confined to mining areas.
There are an enormous number of construction workers living in Airlie Beach at the moment.

Development seems to be quite rampant at the moment. A particular construction company buys a
caravan park and some adjoining land and puts temporary relocatable accommodation in for its
workers. It is a good solution—and I am not critical of the solution—but I am pleased that tonight we will
pass some amendments that will lay the foundation for the development of future policy, particularly in
relation to minimum standards for temporary accommodation buildings through the Queensland
Development Code. Minimum standards for temporary buildings and structures are needed to ensure
that the buildings are structurally sound and able to withstand wind loads, provide an adequate level of
fire safety and provide an acceptable level of health and amenity for those Queenslanders who use
them in mining communities and in other parts of the state.

Generally, the building assessment provisions, which include the Building Code of Australia and
the Queensland Development Code, apply to all building work other than some minor exempt matters.
However, in Queensland section 67 of the Building Act 1975 currently allows a building certifier to
approve a temporary building or structure for an unspecified discretionary period that does not comply
with the building assessment provisions. It thus enables approval of temporary buildings and structures
regardless of the guidance provided by any applicable building assessment provisions of the Building
Code of Australia or the Queensland Development Code.

Current section 67 does require a certifier to consider certain general matters relating to structure,
fire, health and amenity but does not provide any standard assessment guidance within the provision.
Each individual building approval and the time limit that a particular temporary building may stay in place
are within an individual certifier’s general discretion.

The rapid expansion of the mining industry in parts of Queensland has increased pressure on
infrastructure including housing and temporary buildings used for accommodation. Stakeholders have
raised concerns about the standard of some of the temporary buildings and structures, particularly in
some of the mining regions of the Bowen Basin in Queensland. In addition, many temporary
accommodation buildings are used for very long periods without being reassessed as projects are
extended and new projects started. There is a roll-on effect. The assessment periods go on for an
extraordinarily long period.

There is a need to develop building codes and standards that have regard to societal needs and
expectations and that are the minimum necessary to achieve relevant health, safety, amenity and
sustainability objectives. While these general principles apply to the standards for all buildings, some
particular concessions in standards are sometimes needed for temporary buildings. I understand this is
due to the expectation that the life of these buildings will be relatively short and costs can only be
apportioned over a limited time.

It is the function of the building assessment provisions, including the Queensland Development
Code, to provide any technical guidance in relation to minimum standards. Temporary buildings used for
sleeping accommodation are often substandard. Therefore, section 67 of the Building Act 1975 has
been amended to allow for minimum standards to be introduced for such temporary buildings in the
future through the building assessment provisions. The current wording of section 67 renders this
impossible as it currently excludes application of all building assessment provisions.

The amendment of section 67 will require a building development application for a temporary
building or structure to comply with any applicable standard through the building assessment provisions
of the Building Code of Australia or the Queensland Development Code in force at the time for
temporary buildings. If at any time there is no standard through the building assessment provisions
applying then the current requirements of section 67 continue to apply. I will cover this issue in a little
more detail later.

This amendment and any relevant future standard will apply only to buildings. Caravans on
wheels will remain unaffected as they are not classified as buildings. However, applications for caravans
with wheels removed and on blocks or otherwise fixed to the ground and used for ongoing
accommodation may be included in the requirements. The amendment is not intended to affect existing
buildings or retrospectively amend existing approvals. Generally, any compliance issues with
accommodation buildings that were not properly approved would be a matter dealt with under the
applicable local government’s compliance regime, which already applies to such buildings.

The amendment to section 67 does not change a local government’s compliance requirements in
relation to existing accommodation buildings, including temporary accommodation. This bill reorders the
current section 67 subsections and introduces a new subsection to allow any building assessment
provision created in the future to apply to applications for particular types of temporary buildings.

Therefore, where a standard is in place under the general discretion given to building certifiers under
subsection (3) of section 67 in approving temporary buildings, that is removed. Until minimum standards
for temporary buildings or structures are introduced through building assessment provisions, such as
the Queensland Development Code, the existing provisions of section 67 that set out the criteria for
structural soundness, fire safety and health and amenity will still need to be taken into account by
building certifiers when they approve temporary buildings.

Although this amendment will not have a practical impact until further consultation has occurred
with stakeholders, a regulatory impact statement has been completed and a new part of the Queensland
Development Code has been developed setting out minimal standards for temporary buildings. The
amendment enables these further steps to be taken in developing comprehensive minimum standards
for temporary buildings in Queensland. The amendment will support the government’s response to
broader infrastructure and accommodation issues in the state’s mining areas and, as I have pointed out
already, in other areas where rapid growth has required creative accommodation solutions to be
applied. I commend the bill to the House.

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