Industry Bulletin 55

Building Surveyors are required to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the building surveying industry.

The Building Commission has recently released Industry Bulletin 55 detailing amendments to the Building Regulations 2012 (Regulations). These changes, which came into effect on 1 July 2015, are relevant to Building Surveyors in Western Australia.

Occupancy permits for Crown buildings (Amendment regulation 4)
Regulation 43(e) of the Regulations has been amended to extend the expiry of the exemption on the requirement for an occupancy permit for a Crown building from 30 June 2014 to 30 June 2017. This applies where the building work costs less than $50,000.

This means that a Crown building for which building work commences before 30 June 2017 and has an estimated value of under $50,000 does not require an occupancy permit.

Relevant Building Standards (Amendment regulation 5)
Regulation 48A(1) of the Regulations has been amended to correct the definition of relevant building standards in relation to maintenance of buildings.

The Regulation now provides that where no edition of the Building Code applied at the time the most recent building licence was issued, relevant building standards means each requirement in relation to the technical aspects of the construction of the part applicable at that time.

Smoke alarm interconnection (Amendment regulation 6)
Regulation 60(4) of the Regulations has been amended to exempt existing buildings from the smoke alarm interconnection requirement of the Building Code, where a building permit was granted on an application made before 1 May 2015.

This is effectively a grandfathering provision, exempting homeowners from complying with the current smoke alarm interconnection requirements where the dwelling complied with the existing Building Code requirements when constructed.

Due to constantly evolving legislation the information provided within this blog may no longer be valid. The advice given on this site is general in nature and does not take into account your specific circumstances. Please email one of our building surveyors to check what is right for you