The ACT Government will introduce Australia’s first licensing and regulation scheme for property developers to hold them responsible and accountable for residential developments.

“Our legislation will establish a Property Developer Registrar, which will have strong powers to be able to take regulatory action against developers that do the wrong thing,” Rebecca Vassarotti, ACT Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction, said. “It will compel them to fix problems and face fines or suspend or revoke their licence if they don’t rectify works accordingly.”

Ms Vassarotti said this legislation will tackle the problems of defects and compliance failures in residential property developments that appear before, during, and after construction.

“When Canberrans buy or rent a home, they should be able to demand the best from those who built them,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“This Australian-first move aims to give Canberrans the confidence that their homes will be built to the highest standards by trustworthy professionals. To put it simply, it’s all about quality.

“Over recent years, high profile cases of poor development have undermined the trust of Canberrans in the home building industry.

“Dodgy development choices by big businesses are estimated to have cost Canberrans more than $50 million each year.

“This law change will add property developers to the chain of accountability for building quality and safety.”

The Developer Licensing Bill will be debated in the first half of next year. A transition period will follow before the licences will be required.

The ACT Government will engage with the local industry and other stakeholders to progress this reform, as part of a broader package of reforms for the building and construction industry.

ACT Labor MLA Michael Pettersson welcomed the introduction of the bill.

In May, he called for the urgent introduction of the scheme – ACT Labor policy in the 2020 election – because he was concerned that the ACT Government was running out of time to legislate before the end of the parliamentary term.

“As the housing crisis has worsened, Canberrans have increasingly felt pressure to accept lower standards from property developers to secure a place to call home,” Mr Pettersson said. “This is unacceptable.

“Canberrans rightly expect that property developers in the ACT are regulated and held to a high standard, which is why I am pleased to see that the ACT Government and Minister Vassarotti are taking concrete steps to legislate property developer licensing.”

The Construction Forestry Maritime Mining And Energy Union (CFMEU) and the community had advocated on this matter. Ms Vassarotti also thanked building and construction industry organizations, representatives from owners’ corporations, and strata managers, for their engagement over the past year in the development of this scheme.

“The ACT Government takes accountability within the development industry seriously, and these decisive steps to enhance the regulation and monitoring of the industry will help to make sure that it operates at its best and upholds the highest standards,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“We are dedicated to upholding accountability across the entire building supply chain, assuring Canberrans that their homes will be built to the highest standards and are built to last.

“Earlier this year, I introduced a new Engineers Registration Scheme. Going forward, the Government will look to pursue other further regulatory changes such as trade licensing to complete the puzzle of building supply chain accountability.”

For more information on the Property Developer Licensing and Regulation Scheme, visit the Build, Buy, Renovate website.