MASTER BUILDERS FRONTS UP TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON PLANNING, PUBLIC WORKS AND TERRITORY REGARDING THE INQUIRY INTO DRAFT VARIATION 306 Recently, Master Builders Association of the ACT attended the STANDING COMMITTEE ON PLANNING, PUBLIC WORKS AND TERRITORY AND MUNICIPAL SERVICES to discuss dv 306. below are extracts from MBA Deputy Executive Director, Jerry Howard's opening address to the committee.
Edition 5-2012 http://www.mba.org.au/ files/view/?id=594 Master Builders Executive Council President – Ross Barrett Treasurer – Simon Butt Chair, Commercial Builders’ Sector Council – Valdis Luks Chair, Suppliers and Subcontractors’ Sector Council – Grace Ferreira Chair, Residential Builders’ Sector Council –Frank Porreca Chair, Civil Contractors’ Sector Council – Andy Crompton Chair, Professional Consultants’ Sector Council – Hans Sommer Master Builders Management team Executive Director – John Miller Deputy Executive Director – Jerry Howard Director Industrial Relations – Mike Baldwin Senior Management Accountant – Louise MacCallum Senior Manager - Marketing & Membership Services – David Leitch Master Builders Group Training General Manager – Wendy Tengstrom
Master Builders Association of the ACT 1 Iron Knob St, Fyshwick ACT 2609 PO Box 1211, Fyshwick ACT 2609 Tel: (02) 6247 2099 Fax: (02) 6249 8374 Email: canberra@mba.org.au Web: www.mba.org.au
Glen Dowse, Alastair MacCallum and myself were invited, on behalf of the MBA, to address the Inquiry into Draft Variation 306, on 6th July. Glen and Alastair did an excellent job in modelling some typical designs and the impact that DV306 will have on what are considered to be fairly standard designs. The Committee members were given practical/visual applications and I felt that this was of enormous benefit in the presentation of our case for a serious review of DV306. The full transcript of our presentation is available on the MBA’s website under Media Releases. I have extracted some statements from our presentation highlighting the fact that we are seeking an independent review for DV306 and also highlighting the problems overall with the document and its application. “It is disappointing that a few years on we are now being confronted with another system. We are really at a loss as to why the previous system wasn’t given enough time to settle in. We are also at a loss as to why we are now confronted with, essentially, what is almost another new planning system. We do believe that this system, if implemented in its current form, has the potential to essentially drive a lot more applications through the merit track process. That would put greater strain on ACTPLA. It will actually take ACTPLA’s valuable resources away from the task that they should be doing—strategic planning—and we
will be dealing with more applications through the merit process. It also has the potential to drive lots of applications back through ACAT. We will essentially have decisions made by ACAT which, of course, has been the constant cry from our industry because of excessive holding costs and delays. What we want is some certainty. I think this is what we are calling for here: this is a significant change. This is a significant change that warrants an independent review. We believe that such a review should really look at the benefits. What are we trying to achieve with this system? What are we trying to achieve with the potential implementation of DV 306 if it actually does get through the next Assembly? What are going to be the benefits? What are going to be the benefits to the end users and what will be the negative impacts for the territory, given that we have to compete with cross-border planning systems? We know that we are struggling with housing affordability. We have got chronic shortages of accommodation in the ACT. We have got a carbon tax that has just been implemented. We have uncertainty in the industry. We are heading into very uncertain times. Land sales are declining and I believe that we are almost at a tipping point. We should therefore be extremely careful and cautious before we implement any new planning system.”
Energy efficiency certificates now mandatory for all new residential building work Builders, designers and architects, as part of your application for building approval, you must now include an energy efficiency certificate, if required, under an energy efficiency provision. An energy efficiency provision is a provision of the Act or the building code prescribed by regulation that requires building work to comply with stated energy efficiency requirements.
Documents comprising the certification must include—
For each dwelling or sole occupancy unit: •
The energy rating (the adjusted regulatory rating in a half star increment)
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The total conditioned floor area in m2
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The total unconditioned floor area in m2
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The total adjusted energy loads in MJ/m2/annum
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The area adjusted heating loads in MJ/m2/annum
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The area adjusted cooling loads in MJ/m2/annum)
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The construction type of roofs, ceilings, floors, internal walls and external walls
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The type and R values of any insulation to be installed
For a class 1 and associated class 10a building—
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The solar absorptance properties of the roof and external walls
(i) the building code, volume 2, part 3.12.0.1 (Heating and cooling loads); and
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The type and area of glazing, the type of window frames, glazing properties including colour and thickness, the total U value and SHGC values of the window and frame
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Floor coverings
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External shading
For a class 2 building or a class 4 part—the building code, volume 1, part JO.2 (a) (Heating and cooling loads of soleoccupancy units of a class 2 building or class 4 part).
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Orientation
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Presence of skylights, exhaust fans and vented downlights
This means any provision that relies on the use of house energy rating software will require an energy efficiency certificate prepared by a building assessor. People preparing energy efficiency ratings were notified in early May 2012 about the need to become licensed.
Please note that this information may not be contained on the one page certificates produced by some software. However, it can be found in detailed reporting from all software. The version of software, the building assessor and licence number must also be specified. A declaration of a conflict of interest under s139D, must also be provided, if applicable.
Under the Building Act section 139C an energy efficiency certificate must be prepared by a licensed building assessor in accordance with any code of practice or regulation. An amendment to the Building (General) Regulation 2008 will be notified on 12 July 2012 and will come into effect on 13 July 2012 that prescribes the following provisions (new section 44AA) as those requiring an energy efficiency certificate:
(ii) the relevant energy efficiency provisions of the ACT appendix to the building code (at present this is 7.1.2 in the ACT Appendix made by Ministerial Determination)
Earlier versions BERS Professional 4.1 and First Rate 5.0 software have been removed from the list of endorsed software. Only versions of BERS Professional beginning with 4.2 and versions of First Rate 5 beginning with 5.1 may be used for building code assessments. The MBA has provided a number of training sessions on BERS Professional and for those of you who are interested in undertaking this training, please contact Norma Inglis on ninglis@mba.org.au or phone 6280 9119.
The above information represents the minimum information that it is considered a certifier should require to assess compliance with the relevant provisions, even in the absence of the new regulation. Versions of certificates previously valid under mandatory disclosure are acceptable. For class 2 buildings the application must also contain information demonstrating that the average energy rating across all sole occupancy units.
Form of certificates As there is an immediate commencement on the regulation, to minimise disruption to approvals being prepared for application in the next few weeks the certificate will not need to be an approved form initially.
You can view or download a copy of the Building (General) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 2) and explanatory statement from the afternoon of 12 July 2012 on the ACT Legislation Register at http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/sl/2008-3/default.asp
Training will never be the same‌ For the progressive and innovative
BLSC SC SC
Building Leadership simulation Centre
The Master Builders Victoria is proud to present the Building Leadership Simulation Centre to Australia, the first fully integrated training facility for the Construction industry. Master Builders Association of the ACT's Jerry Howard recently visited the centre with two of our Commercial Builders and was most impressed with the facility. Featuring the latest state of the art equipment and instructional tools, the centre will raise the benchmark of Supervisors and Managers by providing participants with a real life construction experience that will foster critical thinking, problem solving, real life decision making, and confidence. The BLSC offers two real life constructions; a Commercial and Domestic build digitally recorded over a 2 year period from our Global partners in the UK and Amsterdam. The facility also features a large 15m high, 180° concave digital screen enabling participants to navigate their way through the site, whilst becoming familiar with the roles and responsibilities they will shortly be faced with as they attempt to supervise and manage their way through over 150 pre-planned simulated work scenarios.
The Simulated Experience The Simulated experience commences with a formal briefing of the site participants will be asked to supervise and manage. Facilitated by the trained staff at Master Builders Victoria and led by trained actors and observers, participants will then change into their required attire and break into 1 of 12 fully functional site huts housed within the Centre. Here participants will assume their roles by completing their required tasks before all the action and interactions begin.
The Traditional Experience The Traditional experience continues at the South Melbourne centre, with 2 x 25-seat capacity training rooms that open up to a large conference like room comfortably able to cater for all types of functions be that training, Trade Nights, conferences or seminars.
The Practical Experience The Practical experience includes a 20m2 x 30m2 area that will cater for basic scaffold training (up to 4m high), Elevated Work Platform (EWP), Spotter's Training, Non Friable Asbestos removal and varying levels of Fire Warden and certified First Aid courses. The Building Leadership Simulation Centre aims to provide the industry with the capacity to train, deliver and assess the skills that previously could only be achieved through years of experience. The Master Builders is now proud to offer this to industry. Look for an extended article in the upcoming Building News.
Building Leadership Simulation Centre 49 - 51 Brady Street, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205 info@blsc.com.au Phone: 03 9411 4555 www.blsc.com.au
Coming events for 2012 ANNUAL DINNER
Date: 17 October 2012 I
Where: Hotel Realm, Barton
The Master Builders Association of the ACT will host our Annual Dinner this year at Hotel Realm in Barton. This is a fantastic opportunity for members to network and enjoy the company of their industry peers.
Training Dates for 2012 Asbestos Awareness
Date: 14 August (Contact Norma Inglis at ninglis@mba.org.au to book your place) The aim of this course is to provide learners with the knowledge and skills to identify when and where Asbestos may be present and the precautions that need to be taken to safely remove and dispose of the Asbestos.
ACT OHS Induction Card Date: 16 August (Contact Norma Inglis at ninglis@mba.org.au to book your place) Current legislation requires all persons to complete OHS Induction Card Training before entering a construction site. This course prepares participants for the construction site through understanding of their OHS responsibilities and the skills to identify hazards. restricted height scaffold
Date: 14 August (Contact Cecilee Miller at cmiller@mba.org.au to book your place) This course is particularly useful for construction industry personnel with minimal experience in erecting and dismantling scaffolding, who wish to further improve their skills and understanding.
COMMERCIAL
21 AUG
23 OCT
CIVIL
7 AUG
13 NOV
RESIDENTIAL
25 JUL
5 SEP
17 OCT
28 NOV
SUB-CONTRACTORS & SUPPLIERS
14 AUG
16 OCT
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PROFESSIONAL
15 AUG
17 OCT
12 DEC
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ACT Private Sector Building Activity $120 $100
MILLION
$80 $60 $40 $20 $0
July-11
Aug-11
Sep-11
Oct-11
Nov-11
Dec-11
Jan-12
Feb-12
Mar-12
Apr-12
May-12
Jun-12
The above graph and table below summarise private sector building activity for the various building sectors in the ACT over the past 12 months. The values for each month are depicted in millions of dollars. // To Insert New Data Goto Object/Graph/Data
• Copy and Paste Pivot Table Data into Data Additions and Alterations (Residential) Commercial Building Work Garages, Pools, Decks and Similar Structures Multi Unit New Housing
Jul-11 4.97 14.20 6.90 8.81 7.43
Aug-11 Sep-11 Oct-11 Nov-11 Dec-11 Jan-12 Feb-12 Mar-12 Apr-12 May-12 Jun-12 10.00 5.52 0.3 0.6 0.58 0.82 1.00 2.00 5.5 5.8 5.2 12.3 7.91 85 60.9 17 8.19 51.5 19.02 14.3 39 80.2 6.00 7.0 7.35 10.5 7.1 9.02 7.05 0.64 1.7 9.0 10.2 66.5 96.0 7.7 24.89 15 13 16.5 1.8 0.13 34.5 33.1 5.00 5.5 1.07 2.8 0.4 1.8 11.4 3.7 40 53 49