On the 7 December 2011 the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) released a report on compliance with the Building Act 1993 which identified a range of concerns and recommendations for improvement.

This is a far reaching report that affects the Building Commission, Municipal Building Surveyors, Engineers, Builders, and Private Building Surveyors in Victoria.
The building Commission has been asked to step up its monitoring and enforcement of the building permit system in Victoria.

Implement controls for better collection of building permit levies.

For EGBS it will probably mean a greater review of what we do, and how we do it, when issuing building permits. Building surveyors can expect to be “audited” every two years and some may be checked more regularly.

I can see that CPD (Continuing Professional development) will soon become compulsory for all building surveyors, and inspectors, and this initiative may even extend to other building practitioners.

Shire councils may need to engage extra staff to assist with the monitoring and compliance with the Building Act out in their municipal district.

The building commission, building surveyors, municipal building surveyors, and other stakeholders should develop templates and uniform procedures, to clearly document decisions made in assessment.

The Building Commission should strengthen its complaints handling and investigation procedures, according to risk, and ensure investigators receive sufficient training to enable them to make appropriate judgments.

The Building Practitioners Board should develop criteria and guidelines for the competency of applicants, and clearly document the basis for their decisions.

The next 12 months will see some sizeable changes to how the Building Commission, Municipal building Surveyors, and Private Building Surveyors operate.