ACT invites community feedback on developer regulations

According to a government website, “the discussion paper is informed by previous inquiries, stakeholder engagement, government reports, media reports, academic literature and a jurisdictional review.”

It will focus on four primary areas:

-   Accountability and transparency

-   Ethical behaviour and work practices

-   Project capacity and capability – financial and operational

-   Building quality and safety

Territory minister for sustainable building and construction, Rebecca Vassarotti, stated the initiative is motivated by the belief that “Canberrans should be confident that when they engage with a developer, the developer is competent, transparent, ethical, and accountable.”

“Currently, the chain of accountability in the ACT’s building regulatory system does not place regulatory responsibility on developers for building quality issues,” she said.

“This must change. Property developers within the building and construction industry must face greater accountability.”

Community feedback will be utilised by the ACT government to “develop a framework that will improve accountability of developers and provide the community with greater information about developments and the developers behind them.” 

Ms Vassarotti noted, “Poor behaviour by only a few developers is largely responsible for a poor public perception of developers, we expect any developer regulation framework will improve building quality and safety, particularly in multi-story development.” 

The discussion paper considers several options, including a licensing/registration scheme, a disclosure scheme, and accountability for rectification works. She elaborated, “Some of the options we’re looking at maybe complementary with each other and could be implemented together.”

Additionally, she outlined that the paper was developed with extensive research, including engagement with the territory governments’ colleagues in NSW and Queensland.

At its housing summit last year, a building developer based in the Sunshine State raised numerous issues relating to property development, including “allowing existing development approvals for a 100-lot residential housing development to be amended and expanded to perhaps 120 or 130 lots.”

In the end, Ms Vassarotti stated that the government “wants to make the best decision for the community.” 

“We are committed to introducing property developer regulation within this parliamentary term,” she concluded.

The discussion paper is available for community and industry stakeholder feedback online until 27 February 2023 at 10am.