Building Amendment Act 2007

Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Section Page 1 Purpose 1 2 Commencement 2 3 New section 1 substituted 2 1 Purposes 2 4 New section 4 substituted 3 4 Objectives of Act 3 5 New heading Division 2 of Part 9 substituted 4 6 New section 196 substituted 4 196 Functions of the Building Commission 4 7 New section 196AA inserted 5 196AA Powers of the Commission 5 8 New section 221ZZV substituted 6 221ZZV Functions of the Plumbing Industry Commission 6 9 New section 221ZZVA 7 221ZZVA Gas Safety Minister may direct the Commission 7 10 Amendment to section 221ZZW 7 11 Consequential amendments to the Building Act 1993 8 12 Repeal of amending Act 8 ═══════════════ ENDNOTES 9 i -- 1 of 10 -- Victoria Building Amendment Act 2007† No. 54 of 2007 [Assented to 7 November 2007] The Parliament of Victoria enacts: 1 Purpose The purpose of this Act is to amend the Building Act 1993— (a) to clarify the purposes and objectives of that Act; and (b) to clarify the functions and powers of the Building Commission and the Plumbing Industry Commission; and (c) to make other minor changes to improve the operation of that Act. 1 -- 2 of 10 -- Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 s. 2 2 Commencement This Act comes into operation on the day after the day on which it receives the Royal Assent. 3 New section 1 substituted For section 1 of the Building Act 1993 substitute— "1 Purposes The main purposes of this Act are— (a) to regulate building work and building standards; and (b) to provide for the accreditation of building products, construction methods, building components and building systems; and (c) to provide an efficient and effective system for issuing building and occupancy permits and administering and enforcing related building and safety matters and resolving building disputes; and (d) to regulate building practitioners and plumbers; and (e) to regulate plumbing work and plumbing standards; and (f) to provide for the accreditation, certification and authorisation of plumbing work, products and materials; and (g) to regulate cooling tower systems; and (h) to limit the periods within which building actions and plumbing actions may be brought.". 2 -- 3 of 10 -- Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 s. 4 4 New section 4 substituted For section 4 of the Building Act 1993 substitute— "4 Objectives of Act (1) The objectives of this Act are— (a) to protect the safety and health of people who use buildings and places of public entertainment; (b) to enhance the amenity of buildings; (c) to promote plumbing practices which protect the safety and health of people and the integrity of water supply and waste water systems; (d) to facilitate the adoption and efficient application of— (i) national building standards; and (ii) national plumbing standards; (e) to facilitate the cost effective construction and maintenance of buildings and plumbing systems; (f) to facilitate the construction of environmentally and energy efficient buildings; (g) to aid the achievement of an efficient and competitive building and plumbing industry. (2) It is the intention of Parliament that in the administration of this Act regard should be had to the objectives set out in subsection (1).". 3 -- 4 of 10 -- Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 s. 5 5 New heading Division 2 of Part 9 substituted For the heading to Division 2 of Part 9 of the Building Act 1993 substitute— "Division 2—Limitation of actions". 6 New section 196 substituted For section 196 of the Building Act 1993 substitute— "196 Functions of the Building Commission The functions of the Building Commission are— (a) to monitor and enforce compliance with the provisions of this Act and the regulations relating to building and building practitioners; (b) to participate on behalf of Victoria in the development of national building standards; (c) to monitor developments relevant to the regulation of building standards in Victoria; (d) to monitor the system of collection of the building permit levy; (e) to administer the Building Administration Fund; (f) to disseminate information (including dissemination to consumers) on matters relating to building standards and the regulation of buildings and building practitioners; (g) to disseminate information on matters relating to the registration of cooling tower systems; 4 -- 5 of 10 -- Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 s. 7 (h) to provide information and training to assist persons and bodies in carrying out functions under this Act or the regulations (except Part 12A and the regulations under that Part); (i) to charge and collect fees (determined in accordance with this Act) for information and training services provided by it; (j) to promote the resolution of consumer complaints about work carried out by builders; (k) to conduct or promote research relating to the regulation of the building industry in Victoria and to report on the outcomes of this research in its report of operations under the Financial Management Act 1994; (l) to advise the Minister on the carrying out of the Commission's functions and powers under this Act and on any other matter referred to it by the Minister; (m) generally to carry out any other function or duty conferred on it by or under this or any other Act or under any agreement to which the State is a party.". 7 New section 196AA inserted After section 196 of the Building Act 1993 insert— "196AA Powers of the Commission (1) The Commission may do all things that are necessary or convenient to enable it to perform its functions. 5 -- 6 of 10 -- Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 s. 8 (2) The Commission may accept any gifts or donations of money or other property by deed, will or otherwise.". 8 New section 221ZZV substituted For section 221ZZV of the Building Act 1993 substitute— "221ZZV Functions of the Plumbing Industry Commission The functions of the Plumbing Industry Commission are— (a) to administer the plumber licensing and registration system created by this Part; (b) to promote the maintenance of adequate levels of competence among plumbers; (c) to monitor and enforce compliance with this Part and the regulations made under this Part; (d) to participate on behalf of Victoria in the development of national plumbing standards; (e) to monitor developments relevant to the regulation of plumbing standards in Victoria; (f) to provide information and training to assist persons and bodies in carrying out functions under this Part or the regulations made under this Part; (g) to provide an information service (including to consumers) with respect to plumbing; (h) to conduct or promote research into matters relating to the regulation of the plumbing industry in Victoria and to report on the outcomes of this research 6 -- 7 of 10 -- Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 s. 9 in its report of operations under the Financial Management Act 1994; (i) to promote the resolution of consumer complaints about work carried out by plumbers; (j) to advise the Minister on the carrying out of the Commission's functions and powers under this Act and on any other matter referred to it by the Minister; (k) generally to carry out any other function or duty conferred on it by or under this Act or any other Act.". 9 New section 221ZZVA After section 221ZZV of the Building Act 1993 insert— "221ZZVA Gas Safety Minister may direct the Commission (1) The Minister administering the Gas Safety Act 1997 may give the Commission written directions concerning the exercise of the Commission's functions as it affects gas safety and persons carrying out gasfitting work, other than directions affecting one person only. (2) The Commission must comply with those directions.". 10 Amendment to section 221ZZW After section 221ZZW(2) of the Building Act 1993 insert— "(3) The Commission may accept any gifts or donations of money or other property by deed, will or otherwise.". 7 -- 8 of 10 -- Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 s. 11 11 Consequential amendments to the Building Act 1993 (1) In section 200(7)(bb)(ii) of the Building Act 1993, for "section 196(ia)" substitute "section 196(g)". (2) In section 211(a) of the Building Act 1993 for "objects" substitute "objectives". (3) In section 261(2)(b) of the Building Act 1993, for "section 196(ia)" substitute "section 196(g)". 12 Repeal of amending Act This Act is repealed on the first anniversary of its commencement. ═══════════════ 8 -- 9 of 10 -- Building Amendment Act 2007 No. 54 of 2007 Endnotes ENDNOTES † Minister's second reading speech— Legislative Assembly: 19 September 2007 Legislative Council: 11 October 2007 The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to amend the Building Act 1993 and for other purposes." 9 -- 10 of 10 --