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...

From 1 November 2015 Great Lakes Australia (GLA) commenced issuing Home Indemnity Insurance (HII) Policies via their agent Residential Builders Underwriting Agency (RBUA) with all Calliden HII Policies transferred over to GLA via a Scheme of Arrangement. All Western Australian HII policies are now issued by either RBUA or QBE Insurance. Further information on HII can be found on the Home...

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...

With Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection, David Hillyard Paying large amounts of money up front for nothing in return or hiring a tradesperson without a recommendation, or without seeing references or sighting previous good work are some of the mistakes Western Australians regularly make when having work carried out on their homes. In the last few months we have issued new warnings about...