The State Government has announced reforms for building in bushfire-prone areas of Western Australia. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has prepared a map which identifies the bushfire-prone areas across the State. A bushfire hazard assessment will be required for new homes in areas identified as bushfire-prone on the map. The assessment will determine the level of construction...

The Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency (ASEA) has told a recent Senate inquiry into non-conforming building products that a wide range of imported goods and materials used in the building industry has been found to contain asbestos. Last year, cement compound board imported into the Australian Capital Territory from China was found to contain chrysotile asbestos and in New South Wales an...

The Building Commission conducted a survey of home owners, local governments and builders in February and March 2015 to review the requirement for owners to sign a building permit application form. These stakeholders were surveyed on: Their awareness of the current exemption; The requirement for owners to give consent to a building permit application form being submitted to the local government;...

The National Construction Code 2015 (NCC) is provided as a preview of requirements that will be adopted on 1 May 2015 and it's now available online for FREE!