Report 12

Regulation of Builders and Building Surveyors

Audit focus and scope

This was a narrow scope performance audit conducted under section 18 of the Auditor General Act 2006 and in accordance with Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards. Narrow scope performance audits have a tight focus and generally target agency compliance with legislation, public sector policies and accepted good practice. The approximate cost of tabling this report is $280,000.

The focus of this audit was to assess how well the Building Commission (Commission) regulates residential builders and building surveyors (surveyors) including the quality of their work. We did not look at regulation of owner builders, plumbers and painters. We also excluded local government activities from the audit scope.

Our lines of inquiry were:

  1. Does the Commission have sound registration arrangements in place for residential builders and surveyors?
  2. Does the Commission monitor and enforce compliance with relevant legislation, regulations and codes of conduct?

The audit mainly covered the Commission’s licensing and compliance activities from July 2014 to September 2015. Building industry reforms were not initially included in the audit scope. During the audit we found the reforms provided important context for the audit and inquired about the status of their implementation.

Two laws were particularly relevant to the audit:

  • Building Services (Registration) Act 2011 ( Registration Act) because it covers licensing
  • Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011 because it covers complaints.

In conducting the audit we:

  • reviewed the Commission’s policies and procedures for the regulation of builders and surveyors
  • interviewed key staff responsible for licensing, monitoring and enforcing compliance and implementing regulatory reforms
  • tested samples of licensing, complaint and compliance files
  • reviewed conflict of interest policies and procedures
  • analysed licensing and complaints data
  • consulted key stakeholders.

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