A leading body for building surveyors in Australia has slammed the country’s building ministers, saying a failure to hold industry briefings at last week’s Building Minister Forum (BMF) meeting showed a lack of interest in hearing from practitioners about real problems facing the industry including the crisis in professional indemnity insurance.

Last Friday, the BMF met in Canberra to discuss progress on reforms to improve compliance with the National Construction Code as well as solutions to address other issues such as the crisis in professional indemnity insurance (PI insurance) for building industry practitioners.

Unlike the three most recent previous BMF meetings, however, this one did not include a forum for ministers to meet with industry bodies.

This has drawn the ire of the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS).

In an open letter to the ministers, the AIBS slammed the lack of an industry forum as part of the meeting.

In the letter, the ABIS complained that ministers ‘do not want to hear from us directly’ and that it was easy for ministers to fail to appreciate the seriousness of the PI issue ‘when you do not properly consult with industry and therefore isolate yourselves from the real building and construction industry world’.

“At the previous three meetings of the Building Ministers’ Forum held in Adelaide in August 2018, Hobart in February 2019, and in Sydney last July, industry representatives were invited to speak directly with you via an industry forum,” the open letter read.

“Through this process you were kept informed about issues affecting the building and construction industry, for which you are responsible.

“Very recently, we were disappointed to hear there will be no industry forum included at the next meeting of the BMF scheduled for Canberra this Friday 13 December. Obviously, you do not want to hear from us directly and therefore we must communicate with you via this open letter. We want to let you know that the professional indemnity insurance crisis you have been aware of and which was going to be the subject of “Australia-wide” action, according to the August 2018 post BMF communique, has deepened dramatically. It is easy to overlook the seriousness of this issue when you do not properly consult with industry and therefore isolate yourselves from the real building and construction industry world.

“So, we will now inform you of what is really happening in the industry as result of your failure to take the promised action on the PI insurance crisis …”

In its letter, the AIBS outlined the results of a recent survey which it undertook involving around 350 respondents.

According to that survey, more than one in ten certifiers have left the industry over the past twelve months because of difficulties associated with professional indemnity insurance.

Almost one in ten more had reduced the scope of services they provide.

Around Australia, building certification firms have been in crisis over recent years amid an exodus of PI insurers following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and revelations that thousands of billings around the country are clad with flammable material.

Since then, certification firms have faced a blowout in premiums and excesses as well as demands for insurers that policies contain exclusions.

According to the survey, these exclusions extend beyond cladding and incorporate swimming pool fences, farm buildings and other types of commercial installations such as wind farms.

In its letter, the AIBS called on the BMF adopt a national unified approach toward rectifying the cladding problem.

It said a failure of the Commonwealth to accept responsibility for flammable cladding has led to a piecemeal approach to regulation throughout the states – all the while with apartment owners being told to either replace it at their own expense or to pursue compensation through legal action.

The only exception to this is Victoria, which has established a fund to cover rectification expenses.

In its communique issued following the meeting, the BMF said ministers had agreed to meet with the Insurance Council of Australia in February to discuss measures to improve the cost and availability of PI insurance.

The BMF will also meet with surveyor and certifier industry associations to establish a professional standards scheme to raise industry standards and promote confidence in its work.

It call on industry associations to develop these schemes as a matter of priority.

The BMF agreed that systematic reform is necessary to ensure lasting solutions to the crisis.

This includes through progressing reforms outlined in the Building Confidence report produced by Professor Peter Shergold and lawyer Bronwyn Weir, developing a professional standards scheme for surveyors and exploring options with the insurance industry to improve the cost and availability of PI insurance.

On a broader note, the BMF noted progress from the Australian Building Codes Board since the establishment of an implementation team following the BMF’s July meeting to develop a national approach to implementing the Shergold Weir recommendations.

Key work the ABCB has done includes:

• Development of amendments to the 2019 National Construction Code (NCC) including a best practice process for the development of performance solutions to strengthen their consistency and quality.
• Development of a new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module on the NCC to ensure building practitioners have a better understanding of the requirements within the NCC.
• Development of a new nationally consistent definition of ‘complex buildings’ with further consultation on the definition and targeted regulatory interventions to continue in early 2020 with a view to inclusion of the definition in the NCC.

Over the next twelve to eighteen months, the implementation team aims to:

• Development of a nationally consistent code of conduct for building surveyors with consultation to commence in early 2020.
• Development of a detailed national specification for inclusion in a building manual for commercial buildings.
• Development of model provisions to set out the roles and responsibilities for documenting, approving and recording performance solutions.
• Work on a national data-sharing framework to support the development of a comprehensive national building data portal will also begin next year. This will draw on data from state and territory governments to support education and compliance and enforcement activities.

In its letter, AIBS says a national approach toward cladding reification will restore some stability to the building industry.

“Only by addressing the lingering issues of the past can a solid foundation be formed from which to proceed, with industry consultation, towards building long term confidence,” the AIBS wrote.

“This will establish a better future for the industry as a whole and for the Australian community.”