The Building Amendment Regulations 2017 (the Amendment Regulations) were published in the Government Gazette on Tuesday 7 February 2017 to come into operation on Wednesday 8 February 2017. The Amendment Regulations can be accessed on the State Law Publisher website.

The Amendment Regulations amend the Building Regulations 2012 (Building Regulations) to introduce a transitional process for making streamlined applications under section 39 of the Building Act 2011 (the Act) for seeking a declaration from the Building Commissioner for the non-application or modification of a bush fire building standard.

Under the transitional bush fire application process, which will apply until 1 May 2019, the existing requirements for two statements by building surveyors about the proposed waiver or modification will be replaced by a requirement to provide a single statement by an accredited person. In addition, an amendment will allow the Building Commissioner to waive, reduce or refund the $2,123 fee for any applications made under section 39. It is proposed that the fee for a transitional bush fire application will initially be $100.

The key Amendment Regulations are outlined in this industry bulletin.