Private building certification was introduced in Queensland in 1998 through provisions contained in the Integrated Planning Act 1997. The reason for its introduction is contained in the “Explanatory Notes” of the Integrated Planning Bill 1997 as being to introduce competition in the building regulatory process. Until then, the regulation of building work was left in the hands of local authorities but clearly this never achieved the productivity that privatisation could through faster turnaround times from submission of application to building approval.

A major advantage of privately assessed building approvals was the removal of the restriction on operating hours in private practice. Competition results in better service that is achieved by the extended hours available to private certifiers to assess building applications and undertake inspections of building work. Having identified the fact that the aim of privatisation results in improved productivity, if the system the profession operates under is defective then optimum productivity cannot be achieved.

After 11 years in private certification I am of the view that there is much that needs to be addressed to achieve the initial goal of privatised building regulation and it is for this reason I am creating a website to identify issues that restrict increased productivity in both the regulatory process and the actual construction process. I look forward to feedback in relation to the matters I raise with a view to publicising concerns and maybe one day rectifying them.

Rick Drew