COMPLIANCE | EDITORIAL
AROUND THE STATES:
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.
In Queensland, an article in the
Courier Mail on 16 March 2017,
advised that a Brisbane couple
had successfully sued a builder for
$1.8 million because the improper
installation of windows caused their
house to be torn apart during a fierce
storm. During the civil suit in April last
year, the court heard from experts
who testified that the inadequate
strength of the windows (product
conformity), which were not fixed
in properly (compliance), caused an
‘explosive over pressurisation that
destroyed the house’ within a 10
minute storm.
Two separate cases in New
South Wales and Victoria
have identified concerns
with steel windows unable
to meet minimum water
penetration resistance
requirements leading to
untested systems now
failing in situ.
The report identified that 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.
WINDOWS MAGAZINE
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