Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Exemptions—Building Surveyor and Plumbing Occupations) Declaration 2022

 EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Mutual Recognition Act 1992

Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Exemptions—Building Surveyor and Plumbing Occupations) Declaration 2022

This explanatory statement provides notes on the operation of the Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Exemptions—Building Surveyor and Plumbing Occupations) Declaration 2022 (the ‘Declaration’). The specific provisions in the Declaration are outlined in Attachment A. The information in the explanatory statement is an aid to understanding the Declaration and should not be substituted for the Declaration.

Context and purpose

Part 3A of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 of the Commonwealth (the MRA) provides for the automatic mutual recognition of occupational registrations (AMR). AMR will provide an entitlement for an individual to carry on an activity in a second State, under the registration covering the activity in their home State through Automatic Deemed Registration (ADR).

Part 3A of the MRA provides for the Minister of a State to declare by legislative instrument that a specified registration, whether for an occupation or for an activity covered by an occupation, is excluded from the operation of ADR. The Minister may make this declaration if satisfied that the declaration is necessary because of a significant risk to –

• consumer protection; or
• the environment; or
• animal welfare; or
• the health or safety of workers or the public.

The Legislation Act 2003 of the Commonwealth provides for the making of legislative instruments.

Summary

Through this Declaration, the Minister for Planning, Victoria excludes the following registrations from the operation of ADR under section 42S of the MRA –

• Building surveyors
• Licensed plumbers
• Registered plumbers in the following classes of plumbing practitioner:
  • gasfitting;
  • Type A appliance conversion;
  • Type A appliance servicing;
  • Type B gasfitting; and
  • Type B gasfitting advanced
  • Roofing (stormwater)
  • Fire protection
  • Mechanical services

Consultation

Consultation on the Declaration was undertaken between the dates of 1 November 2021 and 20 June 2022. Stakeholders consulted were as follows:

1. Regulators
   1. Victorian Building Authority
   2. Energy Safe Victoria
2. Building Industry Stakeholders
   1.  Victorian Municipal Building Surveyors Group
3. Plumbing Industry Stakeholders
   1. Master Plumbers Victoria
   2. Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union Victoria
   3. Plumbing Advisory Council

The consultation supported the exclusion of building surveyors, licensed plumbers and registered plumbers in certain classes of plumbing work from the operation of automatic deemed registration on the basis of significant risk to consumer protection and the public.

The Minister for Planning, Victoria is satisfied that the consultation undertaken is appropriate and practical for the purposes of making this Declaration. The consultation drew on the knowledge of relevant subject matter experts and ensured that persons likely to be affected by this Declaration had an adequate opportunity to comment on its proposed content.

Reasons for this Declaration

This Declaration is made pursuant to section 42S of the MRA on the basis that significant risks arise to Victorian consumers and the public if AMR operates for the registrations covered in the Declaration. The identified significant risks are as follows:

i. Building Surveyors from other Australian jurisdictions are not authorised by their substantive home registration to carry out all the activities that must be carried out by any Relevant Building Surveyor (RBS) under Victorian building laws. In particular, significant risk exists owing to gaps in an interstate surveyor’s authorised enforcement powers, which prevents them from taking the same enforcement activities required of a Victorian RBS. A lack of authorised enforcement powers creates risk to consumers and building occupants since these powers are exercised to ensure buildings are built safely and comply with building standards.

Significant risks have also been identified in relation to interstate building surveyors not having authorisation to carry out inspections of buildings and building work, not having authorisation to determine whether adjoining properties require protection work and not having authorisation to issue building permits or final approvals (for example, occupancy permits).

Each of these activities are critical to enable an RBS to fulfill a role as a co-regulator responsible for ensuring buildings are built to comply with relevant laws and are safe for building occupants. If a person who is not authorised to carry out all of these activities becomes an RBS for a building project, there is a significant risk they will be ineffective at monitoring building work for compliance with Victorian building standards and will be unable to take enforcement action to achieve compliance.

When these considerable gaps in authorised activities are considered as a whole, there is a significant risk of serious financial or physical harm for consumers or members of the public.

ii. Licensed Plumbers in other jurisdictions may not be appropriately authorised to self-certify that their work achieves compliance with plumbing standards. This risk could result in non-compliant plumbing work being carried out and not detected until financial or physical harm has been done to consumers. Outside Victoria, this risk is managed by significantly greater third-party (i.e., regulator) inspections or oversight of plumbing work. To achieve the same level of regulatory activity in Victoria would require an unrealistic increase in the Victorian Building Authority’s (VBA) monitoring and enforcement activities. Without this additional regulatory effort on the part of the VBA, licensed plumbers working under AMR won’t be monitored at the same level as they are in their home state, potentially leading to non-compliant plumbing work being undetected until financial or physical harm has been done to consumers. 

iii. Gasfitting work under AMR creates a significant risk to consumers because other jurisdictions undertake less gasfitting work compared to Victoria. Gasfitters from those jurisdictions do not have the same level of qualification or familiarity with the different types of gas work a Victorian practitioner does. Additionally, the Victorian Government’s steps to improve gasfitter competence arising from the Coroner’s investigation into the death of Ms Sonia Sofianopoulos cannot be applied to gasfitters working under AMR.

iv. Stormwater and fire protection work poses a significant risk because in Victoria this work is regulated as plumbing work but in other jurisdictions it is regulated as building work. It is not likely that building practitioners carrying out this work under AMR will understand plumbing standards related to the work and will prepare non-compliant work, rectification costs for which will ultimately be borne by the consumer. Additionally, consumers will not have the protections afforded them by the plumbing compliance certificate system given building practitioners are not authorised to issue plumbing compliance certificates.

v.  A significant risk arises to the Victorian public if AMR operates in relation to the mechanical services class of plumbing practitioner. Victorian mechanical services practitioners are responsible for ensuring the plumbing equipment used to reticulate medical gas meets stringent standards and is safe for use. Plumbers carrying out this work in other jurisdictions may not be appropriately authorised or qualified to carry out the work in line with Victorian standards.

The Minister for Planning, Victoria is satisfied that the significant risks identified above are sufficient grounds to justify a Declaration under section 42S(1) of the MRA.

Attachment A

Details of the Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Exemptions—Building Surveyor and Plumbing Occupations) Declaration 2022

Part 1 – Preliminary

Section 1 – Name

This section provides that this Declaration is to be cited as the Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Exemptions—Building Surveyor and Plumbing Occupations) Declaration 2022.

Section 2 – Commencement

This section provides the date on which the Declaration comes into operation.

The Declaration commences on 1 July 2022.

Section 3 – Authority

This section outlines the authority through which the Declaration is made. The Declaration is made under section 42S(1) of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Commonwealth).

Section 4 – Definitions

This section provides, for the purposes of this Declaration, self-explanatory definitions of the following terms:

- The Act is defined in this section as meaning the Mutual Recognition Act 1992

Section 5 – Exemptions

The purpose of the clause is to exclude registrations from the operation of ADR. The registrations covered by this clause are building surveyors, licensed plumbers and registered plumbers in the following classes of registration:

• Gasfitting;
• Type A appliance conversion
• Type A appliance servicing
• Type B gasfitting
• Type B gasfitting advanced
• Roofing (stormwater)
• Fire protection
• Mechanical services

The Declaration is made in accordance with paragraph 42S(1) of the MRA. A registration specified in the Declaration is excluded from the operation of automatic deemed registration. This means that an individual cannot carry on the occupation in Victoria under automatic deemed registration.

Richard Wynne

Minister for Planning