In Australia, the compliance systems for the building industry were felt ineffective for strict enforcement of the building code requirements. It was also felt that these systems must be analyzed with the latest trends in the construction industry.
In 2107, a meeting of Building Ministers of Australia was held to provide for the assessment of these systems. Professor Peter Shergold and Ms. Bronwyn Weir were appointed to assess and suggest recommendations for effective compliance and enforcement in the Construction Industry.
In response to this, The Building Confidence Report called the Shergold Weir Report contains recommendations for effective compliance with the National Construction Code and provides for its strict enforcement across Australia. This report was considered by In April 2018, the Building Ministers Forum considered this report.
The report has suggested various measures to remove the shortcomings in the implementation of the National Construction Code (NCC). It recommends many ways for effective enforcement of building and construction standards throughout the country.
Recommendation 19, in the sand report, provides for the appointment of registered Fire Safety Practitioners for each jurisdiction. Their primary duty will be to design, install and certify the fire safety systems that must be installed and maintained in all the commercial buildings in Australia.
This recommendation makes it compulsory for all Governments to appoint Fire Safety Practitioners for each of the jurisdictions to oversee fire safety in the commercial buildings. These officers will be responsible for designing the fire safety systems for the commercial buildings. Within their jurisdiction, they will install and certify the compliance of various fire safety regulations.
By way of implementing the said recommendation of the Shergold Weir Report, the BCR Implementation Team functioning under the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), is taking steps to compile the National Model Guidance Paper for guiding both the local governments and the construction industry to have a uniform and consistent enforcement of the said recommendation 19 across Australia.
This paper is made of five parts. It is considered to be the base document for enforcing various compliance points regarding the installation, testing, certification, and maintenance of fire safety systems.
You can find the objectives and the context for the due implementation of the principles contained in the BCR paper. The stakeholders concerned with fire safety have to consider these and provide their inputs for the successful implementation of Recommendation 19.
The views of the stakeholders will give the best possible way to develop the model guidance in this regard and also provide for a strong, transparent, and uniform compliance and certification of fire safety systems for commercial buildings. This model guidance is to be considered and approved for implementation by Building Ministers later this year.
So, if you are a stakeholder concerned with the implementation of compliance for the design, installation, maintenance, and certification of fire safety systems in commercial buildings, please provide your feedback before 11:59 PM AEST Sunday 26 September through the online form available at the ABCB’s Consultation Hub.
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