Following a review of the Building Act 1975 and its subordinate legislation, including a national competition policy review, a number of improvements have been made to the building certification (approval and inspection) system.

The Building Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2003 implements these changes to complement amendments made to the Building Act 1975 and the Integrated Planning Act 1997 made under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002.

By imposing more effective accountability mechanisms on building certifiers, the community will benefit from the building certification system operating to the highest practicable standards, and the public interest being properly protected.

Changes under the new building laws

Key changes to the legislation include:

• improved documentation requirements for the approval of building work, including more detailed information from building design professionals and certifiers to document reasons for decisions
• requiring local governments to provide private certifiers immediate acknowledgement of the payment of the prescribed fee for archiving building approval documents before certifiers give approval documents to applicants
• improvements to the licensing system for building certifiers, including the requirement for certifiers to obtain regulatory competencies, a more objective suitability test to licence applicants, and a new code of conduct for building certifiers
• notification of engagement of private certifier to be given to owner
• more rigorous procedures for the inspection of building work, including mandatory final inspection certificates
• implementation of a legislative framework to adopt the Queensland Development Code
• introduction of new contemporary siting standards for single detached housing
• commercial and consumer tribunal to hear complaints and make orders
• the option to pay on-the-spot fines if building certifiers commit certain offences.