On Thursday the ACT Legislative Assembly’s economic development committee announced it would investigate the territory’s construction industry in a new inquiry.

Committee chair Jeremy Hanson said the inquiry came on the back of significant community concern around building work.

“There has been concern in the community for some time about building quality, particularly newer apartment developments,” he said.

“As Canberra’s population grows and more housing, including medium and high density housing, is constructed, it is important that our community has a robust regulatory framework.”

In a discussion paper released alongside the announcement of the inquiry, the committee noted the huge economic cost of shoddy building work.

“A report from the University of NSW estimates that for every $100 million spent on construction, over $5 million is wasted as a result of poor building quality,” the discussion paper read.

“If this figure applies to the ACT construction industry, over $114 million would have been spent rectifying the investment in dwellings made in 2016-17.”

The inquiry's terms of reference included the building audit process, industry skills and accreditation, the process for identifying defects, and the regulatory responsibilites of Access Canberra.

Particular attention will be paid to the potential for conflicts of interest to arise between builders and building certifiers.

"Currently there are potential conflicts of interests within the building certification regime in the ACT.
Certifiers being paid directly by the builder may present one example," read the committee's discussion paper.

"This type of direct payment in a regulatory framework can result in unwanted outcomes, and the inquiry should consider whether this is the most appropriate model for transparency and accountability within the certification process."

A number of building industry issues have been highlighted by The Canberra Times in recent months, including:

Planning Minister Mick Gentleman agreed that consumers were frustrated at the perception of the ACT as a haven for shoddy building.

He said the government had put in place a number of changes in recent years to improve the system.

"I look forward to the opportunity for the community to have input into the inquiry, and I look forward to the committee's report afterwards," he said.

Master Builders ACT chief executive Michael Hopkins welcomed the inquiry.

"The inquiry follows calls from the MBA over the last decade for government to improve the building regulatory system in the ACT," he said.

"While the inquiry is underway we also call on the Government to not delay implementing the 43 building quality recommendations that were announced by Minister Gentleman in 2016."

Housing Industry Association regional executive director Greg Weller said the inquiry could give a useful hurry-up to the government.

"It certainly reflects a lot of the measures being raised in the government's review of the Building Act," he said.

"A lot of the issues raised by the community are already on the agenda for public discussion.

"That being said, [the government's review] has been going at a relatively slow pace."

The ACT government's economic development committee is made-up of Liberal chair Jeremy Hanson, Labor deputy chair Michael Pettersson, as well as Labor's Suzanne Orr and the Liberal's Mark Parton.

More information on the inquiry can be found on the ACT Legislative Assembly website.

Written submissions to the inquiry need to be lodged by July 6, 2018.