“Master Builders questions the need for the Labor Government’s Small Businesses Regulation Review into the state’s building and construction sector to help small-to-medium sized businesses avoid red tape obstacles,” Radley de Silva, CEO Master Builders Victoria, said on Wednesday. “We already know what the problems are. It’s time to solve them.”

“Master Builders has long been advocating for the elimination of red tape, which small builders, with their limited resources, are ill-equipped to navigate,” he said.

“The information the study seeks has already been revealed. In addition to our own findings, the latest VAGO report noted, for example, that council delays are a problem. This proposed review may only reveal what we already know to be true,” Mr de Silva said.

“Red tape plagues numerous areas including the builder registration process, council planning approvals, processing environmental impact assessments. Indeed, council performance is getting worse, not better. According to the Planning Permit Activity Annual Report: 2016-17 by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, the average gross number of days it takes for a final outcome is 125, and only 62 per cent of applications are completed within the required 60-day time frame – down from 64 per cent the previous year, “ Mr de Silva said.

“To solve these problems we need to do each of the following: take planning approvals out of the hands of local councils, implement a codified assessment system for common project types, develop detailed housing strategies that have the right mixes of affordable housing, mixed-use structures and that explore the concept of ‘build-to-rent’.

“All of these actions and solutions could fall under the purview of a minister for building and construction with a portfolio dedicated to the issues faced by our industry,” Mr de Silva said. “The opposition has already proposed such a minister, and we hope that Labor also implements this in their election platform.”

“Our sector is the largest full-time employer in Victoria, and over 95 per cent of Master Builders members are small businesses, so this has the potential for a broad-reaching effect within a sector that provides more than 40 per cent of the tax revenue for Victoria,” Mr de Silva said.

“Unnecessary regulations and bureaucratic hoop-jumping drains small builders of precious time and resources which would otherwise be directed toward providing the housing the growing state of Victoria needs so urgently,” he said.

“The December 2017 report, Construction Workforce in Victoria, prepared by Deloitte Access Economics, stated that builders will need to deliver upwards of 54,000 new homes each year for the next decade to meet demand. Reducing red tape will help to make that achievable,” Mr de Silva said.

“Soliciting input from these small business owners is crucial to helping them, Master Builders Victoria looks forward to representing its members in responding to the call for submissions,” Mr de Silva said.