Advocacy on behalf of members can range from quick wins to longer campaigns that take years. The introduction of the Building Amendment (Registration of Building Trades and Other Matters) Bill 2018 into Parliament in August reflected our long term work to improve the quality of certain trades in Victoria.

General Manager Leanne Edwards answers some of the key questions around the government’s new trades registration bill and why it might be a win for industry.

What will the legislation mean for Victorian Builders?

The Bill is about requiring certain categories of trades to be registered or licensed. If the Bill passes it will set up two models applicable to the commercial and domestic sectors for prescribed building work:

• a registration requirement for subcontractors to be expanded from the current registration requirements to include when a subcontractor contracts directly with builders; and
• a broader requirement for the occupational licensing of employees.

What form of registration has Master Builders Victoria been lobbying for?

Master Builders Victoria has argued for taking the first step towards subcontractor trades registration based on existing domestic trades registration categories. That means focusing on certain areas like carpentry, bricklaying, waterproofing, plastering and concreting.

Minister Wynne reflected our own view “Priority areas for consideration of restricted building work are likely to include carpenters (and framers), plasterers, footing and foundation workers, bricklayers and waterproofers.” 
 
What problem will broader trades registration solve?

There are some common problems being seen across the industry – from the insurance claims through to disputes about issues like waterproofing, concreting, carpentry, plastering and brickwork which have impacts on structure. We’re out of step with other states on the Eastern Seaboard with similar mandatory trades registration models too.

Ultimately it is the Victorian consumers who suffer because they endure higher costs of building and renovations and defective work on their houses. The intent of mandatory trades registration is to enable both builders and consumers to look up trades people on a register to see if they have the skills and qualifications they need - similar to electricians and plumbers.

Isn’t introducing trades registration and licensing going to be a costly process?

Whilst there is a trades registration system currently in place in Victoria, the issue is that is it not mandatory if the subcontractor is working for a registered builder. However, we consider that since the Victorian Building Authority is already set up to implement trades registrations for the categories we have been lobbying for, that implementing mandatory trades registration is manageable for subcontractors.

Ultimately, a cost-benefit analysis will determine whether a broader system of trades licensing is a manageable one.

How long would registered trades have to get prepared?

The Bill provides for a transitional process that would allow time for tradespeople to obtain provisional registration or licenses to develop the appropriate skills and qualifications over a five year period.  It will be an offence to carry out prescribed building work if not appropriately registered or licensed, or engage practitioners for prescribed building work if they’re not appropriately licensed or registered. Those offences carry maximum penalties of up to 500 penalty units (over $80,000) for individuals and 2500 penalty units (over $400,000) for a company.
 
Can we call this a success for Master Builders yet?

The introduction of the Bill represents a good first step towards a much needed and called for reform in our industry, and one which Master Builders has been calling for, for more than a decade. But at the time of writing the Bill is progressing through Parliament. Even if it is introduced, the regulatory impact assessment process would be needed and then the transitional process would also begin. There’s a long way to go.