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Building overhaul: SA cracks down on shoddy builders and inspectors
South Australian owners will gain stronger protection from dodgy building work and inspections through proposed reforms introducing inspector registration and harsher penalties for rule-breaking builders.
The South Australian government has proposed a new registration scheme for building inspectors, ensuring they have the right qualifications and experience.
According to the Malinauskas Labour government, concerns have been raised around unqualified inspectors providing dodgy reports, posing a financial and safety risk for consumers.
To boost standards in the building and construction industry, a review was commenced in October 2024 and found a need to improve the regulation of residential building inspectors, including requiring them to be registered.
A discussion paper has been published on the YourSAy consultation website, outlining two options for registration and the minimum qualifications and experience required to be a building inspector.
The first registration option would include individuals in approved roles, such as qualified builders, having their existing licence expanded to include residential building inspections.
The second option would involve creating an entirely new type of registration specifically for residential building inspectors.
To qualify for registration, individuals must meet the minimum requirements, including at least five years of experience in specified building roles, proof of formal qualifications, and a national police check.
Public consultation on the proposed changes to the Building Work Contractors Act 1995 began last week and will close on 12 December.
Under current state guidelines, it is recommended that home owners engage a qualified individual for an inspection, such as a surveyor or architect; however, there is no requirement for a person to be qualified when conducting building inspections.
“The state government wants to ensure that the people South Australians trust to inspect the quality of their building work are qualified to make those assessments and follow concerns raised about unqualified inspectors providing shoddy reports,” the SA government said.
To boost the standard of building work, the state government has proposed tougher penalties for dodgy builders who prey on vulnerable consumers.
If passed, the reforms would increase penalties from $50,000 to $550,000 for offences including working without a licence or seeking unlawful payments.
To further curb illegal behaviour, the proposed new building offences would also crack down on unlicensed builders who use another builder’s licence number to try to deceive consumers.
Similarly, the bill has included a new offence to prohibit building work contractors from engaging unlicensed subcontractors.
“This will provide extra assurance for South Australians in terms of the quality of work being provided and reduce unlicensed work within the building industry,” the SA government concluded.