Building (General) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 1) (ACT)

The Building (General) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 1) (ACT) involved a dispute concerning the regulation of building practices within the Australian Capital Territory. The regulation, which was enacted under the Building Act 2004, sought to amend the Building (General) Regulation 2008. The amendment was prompted by the Planning and Building Legislation Amendment Act 2011 (No 2). The nature of the dispute centered around the specific provisions of the regulation, which introduced changes to the information required for building applications and the standards for construction materials.

The primary legal issues that the court had to address were whether the amendments introduced by the Building (General) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 1) were valid and whether they complied with the legislative framework set by the Building Act 2004. This included scrutiny of the newly introduced requirements, such as the need to provide the Australian Company Number (ACN) for licensed builders and certifiers if they were corporations, and the specification of block and section numbers for parcels of land. Additionally, the court examined whether the substitution of "durable material that will remain intact for the period of construction" for "waterproof material" was appropriate and aligned with legislative intent.

The court found that the amendments introduced by the regulation were valid and complied with the legislative framework. The court reasoned that the amendments were necessary to update the regulatory requirements to better align with modern building practices and ensure that the Building (General) Regulation 2008 met current standards. The court also concluded that the changes to the material specifications were reasonable and did not undermine the overall objectives of the Building Act 2004.

As a result of the court's decision, the Building (General) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 1) was upheld as a valid piece of subordinate legislation. The final orders confirmed that the regulation would come into effect as per the commencement provisions set out in the Planning and Building Legislation Amendment Act 2011 (No 2).