Since its launch in 2016, eNotice has been widely accepted and acknowledged by industry for its efficiencies and overall effectiveness. With over 90% of notices now being completed in eNotice, Building and Energy has made the decision to make lodgement of Preliminary Notices and Notices of Completion using eNotice mandatory. As of 1 July 2019 it will be mandatory to lodge all electrical...
Modified procedure now available The Electricity (Licensing) Regulations 1991 (ELR) have been amended to provide for a modified procedure to reduce the volume of Notices of Completion (notices) required for large electrical installation projects. Electrical Contractors involved with large projects may elect to use the modified system or continue to use the general notice system applicable to all...
The Drainage Plumbing Diagram (DPD) system will be upgraded tomorrow, Wednesday 10 April 2019 at 5.00pm . The search function will be unavailable for approximately one hour at that time. If you have any enquiries regarding the upgradel, please email be.publications@dmirs.wa.gov.au .
The adoption of eNotice by the plumbing industry has been very positive with feedback showing a high level of satisfaction with the system. As a result, Building and Energy will be ending the sales of paper notices later this year. From 1 October 2019 paper Notices of intention and Certificates of compliance will no longer be available for purchase, however, contractors may continue to lodge...
The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme is an Australian government initiative in partnership with state and territory governments. During the past year the WELS team has been engaged in ‘Project New Build’, working to increase the building industry’s compliance through education, engagement and inspections. For information on this project and other important WELS updates...
WITH COMMISSIONER FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION, DAVID HILLYARD Following a recent ceiling collapse at a Thornlie property, home owners are reminded to act promptly on warning signs of ceiling stress. A ceiling collapse can cause serious injury to anyone present at the time of collapse and it can also cause extensive damage to a room’s contents and structure...
The Drainage Plumbing Diagram (DPD) system used for purchasing DPDs will be upgraded next week. The enhanced system will work the same way but will provide a shopping cart feature to allow for multiple purchases and overall improved delivery. The upgrade will take one hour and the DPD search function will be down during this time. It is proposed to occur next week and will be outside of office...
WA home owners are being warned by Consumer Protection and Building and Energy not to deal with roof repair conmen who have approached three consumers, with one handing over $7,000 for work that wasn’t carried out. One of the consumers was approached at his home by three men in a white ute wearing fluoro shirts who told him that his roof and gutters needed urgent repairs. The dodgy door knockers...
A national safety alert has been issued for four open-flued gas heaters that, under certain circumstances, may produce too much carbon monoxide – potentially causing serious health risks to users. Building and Energy (formerly Energy Safety ) is urging owners of these gas heaters to stop using them immediately. The safety alert applies to: Regency i31 (purchased after 1 January 2010) supplied by...
A Herne Hill man has been fined $4,000 and ordered to pay $943.50 in costs by the Perth Magistrates Court on 22 February 2019 after altering a certificate of title which was part of an application for owner-builder approval. Carl Rocco Garreffa had removed his wife’s name from the certificate of title of a property in Herne Hill which was jointly owned by the couple and failed to obtain her...
A Perth gutter repair and roofing business and its sole director have been ordered to pay a total of $14,400 in fines, compensation and costs at Perth Magistrates Court for taking money for services from a consumer but failing to deliver. Alloy Roofing Pty Ltd was fined $8,000 and ordered to pay costs of $3,500 for breaching the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) when it accepted payment but failed to...
All three volumes of the National Construction Code (NCC) 2019 previews have been released by The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) and are available to download from NCC online. Further information on the release can be found on the ABCB website. NCC 2019 will be adopted from 1 May 2019 . You are reminded that the Building Regulations 2012 in Western Australia has a 12 months transitional...
A Mandurah electrician has pleaded guilty to breaching electricity regulations by failing to install a crucial safety component at a building site, which could have resulted in a fatal electric shock. Dale Eric Subke of Coodanup is a licensed electrician (EW159776) and a director of Subke Pty Ltd , trading as Dalectrix (EC9256). On February 1, Mandurah Magistrates Court fined Mr Subke $4,500 and...
Building industry participants in regional WA are invited to free information seminars on important changes coming up in the Building Code of Australia (BCA) 2019 edition. Spanning nine locations from Esperance to Broome during March, the events are presented by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Building and Energy team (formerly the Building Commission). The seminars aim...
Building and Energy is alerting owners and occupiers of properties with swimming or spa pools about the significant risks of propping open a pool gate. Statistics show that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children under five years of age, with many such tragedies occurring in domestic pools. Building laws in Western Australia require swimming and spa pools with water more...
Two clients of a WA builder have transferred a total of $72,000 to scammers believing they were paying instalments towards the construction of their homes. The two payments of $38,000 and $34,000 were made when the consumers received emails purporting to be from their builder requesting the payments be made to a different bank account. The emails were fake and the consumers are now attempting to...
The State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) has imposed a $20,000 fine and ordered further training after a father-and-son building partnership breached WA’s building laws in relation to defects at three new homes. The disciplinary allegations against the partnership between Jason Zachariah Burns and his father, Richard Burns (BP4649), trading as Jason Burns Homes (BC13540, expired), were referred to...
Western Australians are being warned about the risks of attaching or hanging items around their homes, in the wake of a young man’s tragic death in Subiaco this month after a brick pier collapsed on an attached hammock. It is WA’s second fatality in the past decade involving a hammock attached to a brick pier, prompting Building & Energy and Consumer Protection to urge caution about how and...
As many West Australians fire up barbecues, plug in Christmas lights and tackle projects around the house this summer, Building and Energy has issued a safety reminder about potential gas and electrical hazards, including in roof spaces. Barbecue safety Director of Energy Safety Saj Khan said incorrectly maintained gas barbecues could cause fires, injuries and property damage – but simple checks...
WorkSafe has issued a safety alert reminding painting professionals and other contractors that high pressure water cleaning of asbestos cement material is prohibited. WorkSafe is investigating an incident where a registered painter used a high pressure water cleaner on an asbestos cement roof to prepare it for painting. This resulted in the property and neighbouring properties being contaminated...
WorkSafe has issued a safety alert on the health risks caused by exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) for workers in the stone benchtop manufacturing, finishing and installation industries. Cumulative exposure to RCS may cause serious, debilitating and potentially fatal health effects, including silicosis. RCS is smaller than dust and is invisible to the naked eye. Tiny particles of...
A former builder has been fined $2,500 by the Building Services Board (BSB) for not following approved plans and understating the contract value of a project in Dianella. Ian Robert Jack – formerly of Quinns Rocks and now living interstate – was a registered building practitioner and building contractor (BP101026 / BC100827, since expired) in 2016 when he signed a $243,000 contract to construct a...
A product recall has been issued for the Companion portable single and double burner butane gas stoves sold at stores nationally between 11 January and October 2018, AGA certification no. 8704. In some stoves, the gas valve may leak during operation. There is a possibility of a fire or explosion occurring. If you have any of these stoves, cease using the product immediately and return the product...
The following statement was issued by Hon Bill Johnston MLA, Minister for Commerce and Industrial Relations, on Tuesday 11 December 2018: John Fiocco's review of security of payment reform for WA subcontractors released Government will carefully consider all 44 recommendations The McGowan Government today released John Fiocco's final report on Security of Payment Reform in the WA Building and...
The Building Services Board has imposed fines totalling $12,000 in relation to a Mandurah short-stay accommodation development where substantial construction took place without a building permit. The builder, Kerry George Parsons (BP/BC4277) of Jandakot, submitted a building permit application to the City of Mandurah in March 2016 for the five-unit waterfront development valued at $400,000. The...
