The Australian building and construction industry is drowning in red tape, with the Property Council warning that building in Western Sydney “is no longer feasible.”
And no, the blame is not material costs – with Master Builders Australia now urging the Australian government to unlock 500,000 cubic metres of surplus timbers to build 50,000 new homes – but instead over-regulation.
Yesterday, Wood Central spoke to Chris Knierim, the CEO of the Building Designers Association of Australia – the peak body for Australia’s Building Designers and Thermal Assessors – who warned that the surge in compliance could lead to the death of the sole trader.
“It’s all the red tape that you need to go through,” Mr Knierim told Wood Central Publisher Jason Ross, who added, “I speak to a lot of our (3000+) members, who many say they spend up to one-third of their job now on admin.”
Mr Knierim said that with the changing regulation landscape, building designers are now employing part-time admin assistants who work for a number of different designers: “These admin assistants might have ten or more clients, which is a new industry service specifically targeted at Development Application (DA) processes.”
According to Mr Knierim, more consumers are now demanding more sustainable houses—built with low-carbon timbers, which are more energy efficient and have a lower carbon footprint. “It’s all about reuse; we need to repurpose materials, which is why we need to start with design for deconstruction and disassembly.”
However, all that comes at a cost because somebody has to start with all those calculations, which Mr Knierim said is not necessarily a bad thing: “The BDAA is looking at how the built environment is changing, what tools we can provide, and how we can assist the community on that journey.”
That includes Wood You Like to Know 2, following the highly successful Wood You Like to Know last September. “This is the fourth Wood You Like to Know,” Mr Knierim said, adding that “the stacked” programme is a must for architects, engineers, construction professionals, and, of course, building designers, to keep up-to-date with the latest timber trends, innovations and regulations in the industry.
Hosted by Weathertex, the one-day event, scheduled for May 30, will see Mr Knierim join Simon Croft from the HIA, Grant Harrington, director of the Association of Australian Assessors, economist Dr Harley Dale and Jason Ross, Wood Central Publisher to tackle compliance standards to the future of the Australian building industry.
“With the push towards net zero, full-circularity and requirements for developers to now account for embodied carbon compliance is a big ticket item,” Mr Ross said, adding the FWPA is now working on a roadmap to achieve net zero within the timber industry. “In the future, it’s plausible that developers could earn carbon credits for using Weathertex cladding on Australian buildings,” said Mr Ross.
According to Vanda Correia, Weathertex’s National Marketing Manager, Wood You Like to Know 2 attendees will be eligible to receive up to 15 CPD formal points. These points can be completed until the end of June however there’s a chance to win $1,000 for attendees coming along on 30th May.”
“For $99.00, attendees will have the gold level access, with open access to both live and on-demand presentations,” allowing participants to earn up to 15 CPD points, both live and on-demand presentations, for up to a month after the event. In addition, Ms Correia said the event has a new package, which, for $79.000, provides silver-level access. ” This will provide attendees access to all panel discussions live and on-demand, allowing participants to earn up to 5 CPD points for up to a month after the event.”
Supported by the Australian Association of Certifiers, the BDAA, Design Matters, Global Green Tag, Regional Architecture Association, Wood Solutions and Prefab Aus, exhibitors including Ametalin, Intergrain, Archipro, ITI (Aus), ATI, Knauf and Weathertex. The event will include five-panel discussions:
- Discussion Topic #1: Affordable Housing Solutions
- Discussion Topic #2: Modular Construction and Prefabrication
- Discussion Topic #3: Sustainable Construction Practices
- Discussion Topic #4: Latest Compliance & Regulatory Updates
- Discussion Topic #5: Innovative Approaches to Aged Care & Retirement Living
